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Contact Information
Phone:(808) 956-3938
Fax: (808) 956-3923
Email: jbirch@hawaii.edu

University of Hawai`i at Manoa
3190 Maile Way, Room 101
Honolulu, HI 96822

Affiliations
Botany, EECB

Statement
My dissertation research focuses on the systematics of the genus Astelia (Asteliaceae). I am using molecular and morphological data to construct a phylogeny of Astelia to address taxonomic and biogeographic questions within the genus. The widespread distribution of Astelia, which extends from Chile in the east to the Mascarenes in the west, from Campbell Island in the south to Hawai'i in the North, makes it an ideal candidate for the study of the relationships between the New Zealand, Australian, and Pacific floras. Reconstruction of the Astelia phylogeny will allow biogeographic and floristic characters to be traced for this lineage, including transitions between continental and oceanic landmasses, temperate and tropical latitudes, and lowland and montane habitats.

Awards

• 2007 Explorers Club, Eploration Fund Award

• 2005 American Society for Plant Taxonomists, Graduate Research Award

• 2005 Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation Biology Program Research Grant

• 2005 Sigma Xi, Research Award

• 2005 Edward H. Fulling Award, The Society for Economic Botany
  Outstanding Contributed Oral Paper by a Young Professional at the SEB Annual Meeting

• 2005 Best Student Poster Award, Hawai`i Conservation Conference

• 2005 Graduate Student Organization Travel Award, University of Hawai`i at Manoa

• 2003 Graduate Student Professional Development Award,
  University of Texas at Austin

• 2001-2002 College of Natural Sciences Dean's Excellence Award,
  University of Texas at Austin

Publications

• 2007 Lineage Diversification in the Hawaiian Flowering Plant Genus Astelia (Asteliaceae). Poster presentation, Hawai`i Conservation Conference, Honolulu, Hawai`i

• 2006 The Systematics and Biogeography of Astelia (Asteliaceae). Proposal seminar, Botany Department, University of Hawai'i at Manoa
  
  
• 2005 The Gideon Lincecum Herbarium: The Floristic Analysis of an Ethnobotanic Collection. Contributed oral paper, Society for Economic Botany Annual Meeting, Fort Worth, Texas.
  
  
• 2005 The Hawaiian Plant DNA Library: Conservation and Management Applications. Poster presentation, Hawai`i Conservation Conference, Honolulu, Hawai`i.
  
  

• 2004 Master's Thesis. The Gideon Lincecum Herbarium: A Floristic and Ethnobotanic Analysis.
  
  

• 2004 The Gideon Lincecum Herbarium: The Influence of Migration on the Pharmacopoeia of a Botanic Physician. German-Texan Heritage Society (4/18/04).
  
  

• 2003 The Pharmacopoeia of Dr. Gideon Lincecum: An Introduction. Plant Systematics Group, University of Texas at Austin
  
  

• 2003 The Pharmacopoeia of Dr. Gideon Lincecum. Part I: Taxonomic Identifications. Poster presentation, Society for Economic Botany Annual Meeting, Tucson, Arizona.