research
Wetland Assessment
The Jog lab is interested in understanding, testing, and refining vegetation tools for wetland assessment. A lot of our work centers around the floristic quality assessment index (FQI). I have conducted wetland FQI studies in upstate New York, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Ohio, and Illinois. We are currently working on a series of projects aimed at characterizing reference floristic quality and finding shortcuts to traditional Floristic Quality Assessment.
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Study site in western Kentucky - TNC preserve
Field team for Kentucky data collection
Shortcut methods include testing the use of familiar species, dominant species, and indicator species for wetland bioassessment. Ongoing research in the Jog/Bried labs involves graduate student Matt Finzel testing some of these methods using Illinois datasets. We attempt to test the validity and efficacy of these shortcut methods and compare them to traditional FQI using different methodologies, datasets, and scenarios.
Location of Oklahoma wetland sites
Indicator species of high florisitc quality wetlands in OK (Bried, Jog et al. 2014, Wetlands)
Cephalanthus occidentalis, Scirpus cyperinus, Teucrium canadense, Juncus effusus
Plant Phylogenetic Diversity
I am interested in patterns of taxonomic distinctness and how phylogenetic distance and signal may play into floristic quality assessments. Currently we are exploring relationships of species richness, ecological conservatism, and taxonomic distinctness in wetland plant assemblages. Hereafter, we plan to dig more deeply into geographic patterns of taxonomic distinctness across wetlands. Ultimately, we hope to discover if the neglected phylogenetic dimension of bioassessments is useful.
Other Research Interests
I am also involved in conservation, floristics, and ethnobotany. We are working towards expanding the concept of FQI to the Western Ghats of India, along with exploring indigenous ethnobotany. I am also working on collaborative projects involving conservation of intertidal vascular plants of the Hudson River Estuary (with Dr. Rob Naczi) and Sand Area wetlands of Illinois (with Dr. Jason Bried). I am working on the treatment of the Symplocaceae for the New Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada (headed by Rob Naczi).
Ethnobotany of tribal people of the Western Ghats, India
Field work along the Hudson River Estuary with Charlie Zimmerman
K-12 school field trip in rural India - educating girls about conservation and sustainable harvesting
Rauwolfia serpentina - endemic medicinal plant from India
Exploring sacred groves in the Western Ghats, India - National Geographic Studies
Keying endemics of the Western Ghats in India with students and researchers
