2005-2005 Research Summary
Research and curatorial activities at the Florida Museum saw another year of vigorous growth during 2005-06. Dickinson Hall, which is no longer open to the public, is where most of the Museum's 24 million objects are housed along with the associated field notes, photographs, databases and libraries that enhance their irreplaceable scientific value.
The Museum brought in more than $3.1 million in new and continuing multi-year grants to support research, collections curation and education. Museum research focuses on studies of DNA, anatomy, ecology and behavior and the evolution of plants, animals and human cultures. While the Museum's primary geographic strengths are in Florida, the Southeastern United States, and the Caribbean, the collections and research programs span the globe. Many of the collections of plants, animals, fossils and artifacts rank among the top 10 in the United States.
Collections & Research Highlights
Download a copy of the 2005-2006 Museum Annual Report (PDF)
Research Locations
Florida Counties
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New Grants
Florida Museum faculty and staff received 28 new grants in 2005-06 totaling $2.1 million from the following sponsors:
- American Museum of Natural History
- Evolving Earth Foundation
- Florida Administration for Children & Families
- Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Service
- Florida Department of State
- Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
- Lee County
- National Science Foundation
- Water Management Districts
- University of Florida Foundation
- University of Nevada
- University of West Florida
- U.S. Department of Agriculture
- U.S. Department of Commerce
- U.S. Department of the Interior
Teaching
- ANG 5162 Maya Archaeoastronomy and Ethnoastronomy, 3 credits
- ANG 6186 Maya Zooarchaeology, 3 credits
- ANG 6905 Individual Studies in Anthropology, 23 credits
- ANG 6915 Research Projects in Social, Cultural, and Applied Anthropology, 3 credits
- ANG 6945 Internship in Anthropology, 6 credits
- ANG 6971 Research for Master's Thesis, 9 credits
- ANG 7979 Advanced Research, 14 credits
- ANG 7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation, 18 credits
- ANT 4905 Individual Research in Anthropology, 37 credits
- ANT 4907 Research Projects in Anthropology, 7
- ANT 4125/ANG 5324 Field Methods in Archaeology, 6 credits
- ANT 4124/ANG 6905 Laboratory Methods, 3 credits
- ARE 6973 Individual Project in Lieu of Thesis, 6 credits
- ARH 6941 Supervised Internship, 3 credits
- ART 6973 Individual Project in Lieu of Thesis, 15 credits
- BOT 2710 Practical Plant Taxonomy, 3 credits
- BOT 5115 Paleobotany, 3 credits
- BOT 6735 Systematics Journal Club, 2 credits
- BOT 6905 Individual Studies in Botany, 1 credit
- BOT 6927 Advances in Botany, 3 credits
- BOT 6971 Research for Master's Thesis, 7 credits
- BOT 7979 Advanced Research, 17 credits
- BOT 7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation, 16 credits
- EES 6405 Environmental Toxicology 3 credits
- ENY 4905 Problems in Entomology, 1 credit
- ENY 4905/6934 Biology of the Lepidoptera, 3 credits
- GLY 6971 Research for Master's Thesis, 2 credits
- PCB 6409 Seminar in Ecology, 1 credit
- PCB 6605 Principles of Systematic Biology, 4
- PCB 7979 Advanced Research, 1 credit
- WIS 6971 Research for Master's Thesis, 5 credits
- ZOO 2203C Invertebrate Zoology, 4 credits
- ZOO 4472C Avian Biology, 4 credits
- ZOO 4905 Individual Studies in Zoology, 4 credit
- ZOO 6927/GLY 6932 Broader Impacts of Natural Science on Society, 2 credits
- ZOO 5115C/GLY 6932 Vertebrate Paleontology, 3 credits
- ZOO 5115C/GLY 6932 Vertebrate Paleontology: Fossil Record and the Evolution of Mammals, 3 credits
- ZOO 6905 Individual Studies in Zoology, 11 credits
- ZOO 6927 Methods of Phylogenetic Inference, 3 credits
- ZOO 6971 Research for Master's Thesis, 11 credits
- ZOO 7979 Advanced Research, 24 credits
- ZOO 7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation, 19 credits
- Graduate Committees Served: 126
- Graduate Committees Chaired: 66
- Independent Studies: 86
Collections & Research Highlights
Archaeology and Ethnography
- Completed a comprehensive survey of St. Lucie, Windward Islands.
- Coauthored an overview of Caribbean Archaeology with Corinne Hofman of Leiden University.
- Initiated development of archaeology program at Island School in Eleuthera, Bahamas.
- Assisted with development of Clifton Heritage Park in the Bahamas.
- Assisted with development of recreated Lucayan village on Grand Turk.
- William Keegan appointed Distinguished Lecturer at the University of the West Indies.
- Investigated human impact on ancient environments in cooperation with the Museo de Historia Natural, Universidad de San Carlos.
- Researched migration in ancient Mesoamerican trade, changing environments and climates.
- Acquired the St. Catherine's Island Zooarchaeological and Archaeobotanical Collections.
- Organized St. Catherine's Island Environmental Archaeology Round-Table.
- Expanded FAO Schwarz-funded Fish Atlas.
- Kitty Emery listed in Who's Who of American Teachers and Who's Who of American Women.
- Curated Visions of Wind River exhibit.
- Completed curation of Andean Folk Art collection.
- Curated Native Amazonian ethnographic collection.
- Completed major hurricane restoration to Randell Research Center, including Calusa Heritage Trail and surrounding properties.
- Assisted in architectural restoration of historic Gill House, administrative center for the Randell Research Center.
- Assisted in urban forest rehabilitation of Randell Research Center and surrounding properties.
- Established Pineland charter regional center within the statewide Florida Public Archaeology Network.
- Jerald Milanich awarded 2005 Ken Meeker Travel Writer Award by the Sanibel-Captiva Chamber of Commerce and Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau.
Florida Archaeology research included:
- Late Holocene climate archives preserved in archaeological shells.
- National Science Foundation program on calibration of strontium-calcium ratios in clam shells.
- Diets of Florida Indian populations.
- Archaeologically detected foodways as a measure of culture change.
- Petrographic research on pottery from Puerto Rico and Alabama.
- Manufacturing origins of Safety-Harbor related pottery at Pineland, and on chronology of Useppa Island pottery.
- Studied Mayapan censers to determine chronology, iconography and external connections on Postclassic censer traditions across Mesoamerica.
- Postclassic Central Mexico research project focused on Codex Borgia.
- Susan Milbrath selected as project advisor for Maya Skies planetarium program, Chabot Space & Science Center.
- Prepared GIS database for St. Augustine archaeology.
- Excavated Mission San Francisco de Potano, an important Spanish mission site.
- Received donation of a collection of 18th- and 19th- century historic ceramic objects from John Goggin, a seminal figure in the development of Spanish Colonial archaeology.
- Kathleen Deagan received Society for American Archaeology Presidential Recognition for service on the National Historic Landmarks Review Committee and served as instructor for the Florida Humanities Council-National Endowment for the Humanities project, Teaching American History.
Botany
- Researched mechanisms of the evolutionary origins of crassulacean acid metabolism in tropical orchids.
- Researched the systematics of Maxillariinae (Orchidaceae).
- Continued development of Assembling the Tree of Life database.
- Created Revealing the Rare: a Virtual Collection of Florida's Endangered Plant Species.
Molecular Systematics and Evolutionary Genetics Laboratory
- Researched genome evolution and macrodiversification in green plants.
- Continued development of Deep Time: A Comprehensive Phylogenetic Tree of Living and Fossil Angiosperms.
- Continued work on The Floral Genome Project: Origin and Evolution of the Floral Genetic Program and Phylogenetic Tools for Evolutionary and Functional Genomics of Angiosperms.
- Continued collaborative research project Resolving the Trunk of the Angiosperm Tree and Twelve of its Thorniest Branches.
- Organized workshops on understanding species diversity, unifying field, museum and laboratory scientists in global biodiversity studies and on establishing a comprehensive database for plant systematics.
- Pam Soltis served as consultant for NOVA program on first flowers.
- Soltis received Centennial Award from the Botanical Society of America.
- Researched a new first flower in the world from China.
- Investigated fossil plant deposits in the Bahamas, Tennessee, Kansas and Nebraska.
- Hosted Advances in Paleobotany Conference, the Florida Paleontological Society annual meeting, and the MidContinent Paleobotanical Colloquium.
- David Dilcher listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Education and Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare.
- Dilcher awarded the Paleobotanical Society International Medal.
Invertebrates
- Researched molecular phylogeography and speciation of Indo-West Pacific marine invertebrates.
- Continued marine biodiversity inventory of Oceania.
- Undertook systematic study of neotropical land snails and southeastern freshwater snails.
- Developed online photographic resource for the identification of coral reef invertebrates.
- Created a checklist of land and freshwater snails of Mexico and Central America.
- Researched new species of frog crabs in the Pliocene Seroe Domi Formation, Curacao.
- Collected and studied 10 new species of recently discovered Florida Eocene crabs.
- Received major donation of Antarctica fossils from the University of Illinois.
- Developed new online database.
- Participated in National Science Foundation-sponsored collaborative project with the University of South Florida to provide undergraduate research experiences.
- Researched sclerochronology of coquina clams.
Museum Studies
- Worked on major monograph on William Bartram.
- Researched 18th-century deerskin trade with Creek peoples in east Florida.
- Performed reanalysis of Scientific Revolution as influenced by European Neotropical exploration.
- Presented a lecture prior to a performance of The Monkey Trial for UF Performing Arts.
- Charlotte Porter, as Florida Director of the Bartram Trail Conference, spearheaded the Evinston to Cross Creek Paint Out: Florida's Eden.
Vertebrates
- Conducted herpetological species surveys throughout Parque Nacional, Honduras.
- Continued research on introduced exotic herps.
- Studied molecular genetics of king snakes throughout North America.
- Researched turtle populations and water quality in Missouri.
- Studied the ecology of cottonmouths at their northern limit.
- Acquired wet collections from the U.S. National Park Service South Florida Collection Management Center.
- Hosted the 29th Annual Herpetology Conference.
- Co-chaired symposium Conservations about Invasive Herp Species: Can a Pan-herpetological Approach Help Find Solutions to Some Problems?
- Wayne King appointed Florida Museum representative to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Nongame Wildlife Advisory Council by Gov. Jeb Bush.
- King served as consultant for BBC Natural History Unit film on crocodiles for David Attenborough's Life in Cold Blood TV series.
- King and Kenneth Krysko served as consultants and on-camera experts for National Geographic Society TV film on alligators and pythons in the Everglades.
- Max Nickerson appointed Conservation Fellow to the Saint Louis Zoo Wildcare Institute.
- Collaborated on Crazy Mountains Basin Project: Composition, Diversity, and Evolution of Paleocene mammalian faunas.
- Continued work on collaborative project to document biotic change in response to rapid, large-scale global warming.
- Investigated origin and early evolution of primates.
- Studied Eocene-Oligocene mammals, paleoecology and geochemistry and fossil mammals from the Neotropics.
- Studied vertebrates and plants from a neotropical rainforest in northern Colombia and Pliocene vertebrates from Florida.
- Investigated macroevolution and diagenesis of giant Cenozoic sharks.
- Continued excavations at the Haile 7G vertebrate site.
- Researched systematics of North American fossil tapirs.
- Studied fossil vertebrates of the Central Florida Phosphate District.
- Continued research on fossil tortoises in Florida, Nebraska and South Carolina.
- Conducted uplift studies of the Andes using stable isotopes.
- Received donation of Dr. Clifford Jeremiah's collection of shark fossils and models, facilitating the development of an upcoming Florida Museum traveling exhibit.
- Received donation of the Hutchens collection of fossils from the Nebraska badlands and from the Florida Neogene (6,000 specimens total), significantly increasing the research potential of the existing northeastern Eocene-Oligocene Badlands and Pliocene Florida.
- Launched online database as part of the international Paleontology Portal.
The Katharine Ordway Chair in Ecosystem Conservation
- Continued research on effects of urbanization on community ecology and population dynamics of birds in Florida.
- Investigated coevolution between cowbirds and their hosts and cowbird parasitism in Florida.
- Studied habitat selection and populations of migratory songbirds in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Scott Robinson led UF Alumni field trip to Amazonian Peru.
- Studied a new darter from the Upper Tennessee River Drainage.
- Collected freshwater fishes from Sumatra in collaboration with Indonesian scientists.
- Continued research project All Catfish Species Inventory.
- Curated Buck Island Reef Monument Bill Smith-Vaniz Cryptic Reef Fish collection.
Florida Program for Shark Research
- Monitored, documented, evaluated and reported on shark attacks and other shark/human interactions on world-wide basis through Florida Museum International Shark Attack File.
- Involved in international conservation of sharks and rays through IUCN Shark Specialist Group and other initiatives, including co-organizing a fishery training workshop for West African biologists in Senegal.
- Helped orchestrate initial efforts at recovery of first federally endangered marine fish, the smalltooth sawfish.
- Developed bilateral Brazil-U.S. shark research initiative.
- Collaborated on federal fishery management plans for U.S. east coast sharks.
- Conducted Project Shark Awareness workshops for teachers and science educators throughout Florida, discussing shark biology, fisheries and conservation.
- Investigated host-specific parasites as markers of host evolutionary history.
- Continued research on co-speciation in primates and lice.
- Continued work on BioCorder project, a biodiversity inventory tracking system.
- Continued research on endangered Florida panthers, including the use of stable isotopes and Harris lines to assess their health and diet.
- Linked Florida Museum mammal database to MANIS, an international web portal for mammal collections.
- Investigated avian diversity and habitat relationships in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Studied prehistoric diversity of vertebrates on Guam.
- Conducted paleontological and zooarchaeological studies of Neotropical birds ranging from Mexico to Bolivia.
- Continued study of systematics, biogeography and zooarchaeology of birds, with special focus on Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas.
- Collaborated on the Northern Arawak Diaspora Project: Two Millennia of Pre-Columbian Landscape Alteration in Northeastern South America and the Caribbean.
- Undertook Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-sponsored project to enhance biological knowledge of Florida's birdlife through specimen salvage at wildlife rehabilitation clinics.
- Andrew Kratter served as contributor to the 46th Supplement to the American Ornithologists Union Check-List of North American Birds.
- Jeremy Kirchman, Florida Museum graduate research assistant, received Ph.D. and was appointed Curator of Birds at the New York State Museum.
McGuire Center for Lepidoptera & Biodiversity
- The McGuire Center acquired millions of butterfly and moth specimens last year, increasing the size of the collections housed at the Museum to an estimated eight million. The Museum acquired one of the largest private collections in the world from Germany, which included two million specimens and more than 40,000 Lepidoptera books and journals. McGuire Center faculty and staff spent many weeks packing, shipping and curating these specimens.
- Curators, other staff and graduate students also traveled to the western and northeastern U.S., Central and South America, Asia and Europe to collect thousands of new specimens, conduct research and attend scientific meetings and conferences.
- The McGuire Center hosted a four-day combined meeting in June of the international Lepidopterists' Society, the Association for Tropical Lepidoptera and the Southern Lepidopterists' Society, which drew more than 300 participants. Curator Jacqueline Miller and other McGuire staff organized presentations, field trips and workshops for the meeting.
- In April, assistant curator Keith R. Willmott organized the Andean Butterfly Biodiversity Workshop, which brought nearly 20 of the world's leading neotropical lepidopterists to plan an intensive professional curatorial training program in conjunction with major museums throughout South America.
- McGuire staff also helped construct the new Florida Wildflower and Butterfly Garden west of the Museum and re-plant the north slope butterfly gardens between the Florida Museum and the Harn Museum of Art.
- Assistant curator Jaret Daniels continued to direct the Miami Blue butterfly captive propagation program and led numerous trips to South Florida to release caterpillars of this endangered species back into the wild.