2006-2007 Research Summary
Vigorous growth of the Florida Museum's research and curatorial activities helped the collections increase to more than 28 million objects. The majority of these specimens are housed in Dickinson Hall along with the associated field notes, photographs, databases and libraries that enhance their irreplaceable scientific value.
The Museum brought in more than $3.6 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 research and collections strengths are focused in Florida, the southeastern United States and the Caribbean, the programs span the globe. Most of the collections of plants, animals, fossils and artifacts rank among the top 10 in the United States, if not in the world.
Collections & Research Highlights
Download a copy of the 2006-2007 Museum Annual Report (PDF)
Research Locations
Florida Counties
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New Grants
Faculty and staff received a total of 32 new grants totaling more than $2.28 million from the following institutions:
- American Museum of Natural History
- American Orchid Society
- Florida Department of State
- National Foundation on Arts and Humanities
- National Science Foundation
- Southwest Florida Community Foundation
- United States Department of Commerce
- United States Department of Interior
Teaching
- ANG 3141 Development of World Civilizations, 3 credits
- ANG 4930 Caribbean Archaeology, 3 credits
- ANG 6718 Material Culture in Historical Archaeology, 3 credits
- ANG 6905 Individual Studies in Anthropology, 15 credits
- ANG 6910 Supervised Research, 3 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, 15 credits
- ANG 7979 Advanced Research, 8 credits
- ANG 7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation, 49 credits
- ANT 4905 Individual Research in Anthropology, 45 credits
- ANT 4907 Research Projects in Anthropology, 3 credits
- ARE 6973 Museum Studies, Individual Project in Lieu of Thesis, 9 credits
- ARH 6941 Supervised Internship in Museum Studies, 3 credits
- BOT 4905 Individual Studies in Botany, 2 credits
- BOT 5115 Paleobotany, 6 credits
- BOT 5625 Plant Geography, 2 credits
- BOT 6935 Molecular Systematics, 4 credits
- BOT 6935 Population Genetics, 2 credits
- BOT 6910 Individual Studies in Botany, 9 credits
- BOT 6927 Systematics Journal Club, 2 credits
- BOT 6971 Research for Master's Thesis, 2 credits
- BOT 7979 Advanced Research, 4 credits
- BOT 7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation, 1 credit
- ENY 6934 Insect Biogeography, 2 credits
- GLY 4905 Individual Work in Geological Sciences, 1 credit
- GLY 5786L Topics in Field Geology-Florida, Vertebrate Paleontology I, 4 credits
- GLY 6905 Advanced Research, 5 credits
- GLY 6971 Research for Master's Thesis, 19 credits
- IDH 4905 Honors Individual Work, 6 credits
- WIS 6971 Research for Master's Thesis, 9 credits
- ZOO 2203C Invertebrate Zoology, 4 credits
- ZOO 4905 Individual Studies in Zoology, 11 credits
- ZOO 4926 Herpetology, 4 credits
- ZOO 4926 Insect Biogeography, 2 credits
- ZOO 4926 Seminar in Zoology, 1 credit
- ZOO 6456C Ichthyology, 5 credits
- ZOO 6905 Individual Studies in Zoology, 4 credits
- ZOO 6927 Avian Anatomy and Specimen Preparation, 3 credits
- ZOO 6927 Avian Systematics and Biogeography, 4 credtis
- ZOO 6927 Herpetology, 4 credits
- ZOO 6927 Reef Coral Taxonomy, 1 credit
- ZOO 6927 Vertebrate Macroevolution and Development, 3 credits
- ZOO 6971 Research for Master's Thesis, 2 credits
- ZOO 7979 Advanced Research, 30 credits
- ZOO 7980 Research for Doctoral Dissertation, 23 credits
- Graduate Committees Served: 193
- Graduate Committees Chaired: 65
- Independent Studies: 82
- University of Florida Scholars:
Jonathan Saunders, mentor Thomas Emmel, Ph.D.
John Stoetzel, mentor Irv Quitmyer
Collections & Research Highlights
Archaeology and Ethnography
- Research focused on human modification of local landscapes to develop a comprehensive understanding of Caribbean prehistory.
- Wrote first comprehensive survey of Caribbean archaeology.
- Conducted excavations and assisted with exhibit development for the Clifton Heritage Park in the Bahamas.
- Continued expansion of Bullen Library, the most comprehensive library of Caribbean archaeology in the world.
- William Keegan appeared on Digging for the Truth, Atlantis: New Revelations on The History Channel.
- Research focused on human impact on the environment as over-exploitation of terrestrial and marine environments and the socio-economics of natural resource control in complex societies based on archaeological data from sites in Guatemala, Mexico and Honduras.
- Investigated methods in recovery and interpretation of environmental archaeology data, as part of the Proyecto Zooarqueologico del Area Maya project.
- Conducted research on ethnographic/ethnohistoric ritual animal caching in the highlands of Guatemala.
- Continued collections rehabilitation project for St. Catherines Island paeloenvironmental collections.
- Analyzed stable oxygen isotopes of modern and archaeological oyster shells to determine season of oyster collection at the St. Catherines Island prehistoric shell ring.
- Developed new staining technique for the study of growth increments in fish otoliths to interpret season of fish catch at archaeological sites.
- Acquired systematic zooarchaeological collections from Motul de San Jose, Trinidad and Guatemala.
- Continued curation of the Native Amazonian ethnographic collection, with emphasis on the elaborate featherwork headdresses, masks and costumes.
- Received donation of rare Native Amazonian feathered hammock.
- Received grant to rehabilitate the Pineland Collection, an internationally significant systematic collection from a major Calusa Indian town site.
- Completed reforestation project to plant more than 900 native trees at the Randell Research Center.
- Continued architectural renovation of historic Gill House, administrative center for the Randell Research Center.
- Began digital imaging of Bullen Projectile Point Type Collection for publication on the Museum's web site.
- Initiated five-county public outreach program in connection with the Florida Public Archaeology Network.
- Developed archaeological displays for the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park Primitive Arts Festival.
- William Marquardt served on the advisory committee for the state-sponsored Trail of Florida's Native American Heritage.
- Ann Cordell received a Museum-sponsored staff enrichment grant for her petrographic research on Weeden Island ceramics.
Florida Archaeology research included:
- Paleoclimatic geochemistry of clam shells and catfish otoliths from the Pineland archaeological complex.
- Petrographic analysis of Weeden Island pottery from the McKeithen site and other northwest Florida sites.
- Archaeological monitoring of the Ficke Garden site, located on the University of Florida campus.
- Research on Florida's prehistoric dugout canoes.
- Archaeological and archival research on Seminole and Spanish missions.
- Documentary research on 18th- and 19th-century Cuban fishing practices in southwest Florida, including emergence of "Spanish Indians" through Creek Indian and Cuban fishermen interaction and intermarriage.
- Continued study of Mayapan censers to determine chronology, iconography and external connections on Postclassic censer traditions across Mesoamerica.
- Conducted research on Postclassic Central Mexico and Yucatan with a focus on astronomy, seasonality and the biological world.
- Completed excavations and data recovery at the Fountain of Youth Park, site of Pedro Mendez's campsite.
- Synthesized contact period archaeological data from three major Caribbean historic sites: En Bas Saline, Haiti; Concepcion de la Vega and La Isabela, Dominican Republic.
- Kathleen Deagan served on the state-appointed Task Force on the Future of St. Augustine's Historic Resources and Structures.
- Deagan appointed by the National Advisory Council on Historic Preservation to the National Park Service Task Force on "Determining What is Important for Revision of the 1966 Historic Preservation Act." Served as appointed delegate to the National Park Service "Preserve America" summit.
Botany
- Researched the systematics of Maxillariinae (Orchidaceae).
- Continued research on the phylogentic study of subfamilial and tribal relationships in Orchidaceae using molecular and morphological data.
- Studied chemical attraction of pollinators to floral rewards, including floral fragrances and pheromone mimics.
- Created web-accessible database with digitized images of type specimens, poisonous plants, edible and medicinal plants, and vascular plants in the collection for use by the scientific community and public.
- Conducted floral inventory of Kanapaha Botanical Gardens.
- Initiated project to systematically "barcode" every species of plants in Florida using DNA.
Molecular Systematics and Evolutionary Genetics Laboratory
- Research focused on questions of angiosperm phylogeny, patterns and genetics of floral evolution, patterns and processes of gene and genome evolution and phylogeography.
- Studied conservation genetics of several rare species on the Lake Wales Ridge, Fla.
- Continued integration of new plant samples into the frozen DNA and tissue collection in the Museum's Genetic Resources Repository.
- Worked with MorphBank developers to expand database for plant images and in-situ gene hybridization images.
- Collaborated with the Botanical Society of America to provide educational K-12 materials from Deep Time: A Comprehensive Phylogenetic Tree of Living and Fossil Angiosperms and The Floral Genome project.
- Pam Soltis named UF Faculty Achievement Recognition honoree.
- Soltis selected as Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar.
- Research continued on the world's first flower from China, and new discoveries of early angiosperms from Brazil.
- Studied the Mystery Cone, an ancient angiosperm from Brazil.
- Continued investigations of fossil plant deposits from the Bahamas, Germany, Japan, Peru, Tennessee and the Western United States.
- Participated in the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center-sponsored panel to develop a comprehensive database for Northern Hemisphere plant lineages. The project will provide a new synthetic theory of Northern Hemisphere biogeography to help illuminate past episodes of global change.
- David Dilcher appointed Honorary Professor at Jilin University, China, and Honorary Associate in Paleobotany at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
- Dilcher listed in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in Science and Engineering.
- Dilcher awarded the Botanical Society of America Centennial Award and the Award of Changbaishan Friendship by the Government of Jilin Province, China.
- Dilcher featured in NOVA's The First Flower.
- Steve Manchester named Research Associate at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and the University of California Museum of Paleontology.
Invertebrate Zoology
- Continued marine biodiversity inventory of Oceania.
- Continued research to illuminate distribution and origin of marine biodiversity in tropical reef systems and to document evolution and biogeography of marine invertebrates worldwide.
- Described new species of snails from Mexico and Florida, and three new species of snails from New Guinea.
- Described biodiversity of terrestrial snails in New Guinea to explore the development of the island's high biodiversity.
- Entered enough specimens to make the collections database the world's largest source of online data in Malacology with more than 400,000 entries representing several million specimens.
- Gustav Paulay awarded UF Foundation Research Professorship.
- Conducted paleontological resource surveys on Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba. Documented and collected well-preserved fossils from numerous Late Pleistocene sites found on the base.
- Conducted paleoenvironmental studies on giant oysters from a Pliocene formation on Curacao, Netherlands Antilles.
- Researched systematics of a new sea star discovered in Eocene deposits near Newberry, Fla., snails from the Late Eocene Ocala Limestone in Florida and giant marine snails from Eocene deposits in Florida and Jamaica.
- Collected and documented remains of Florida Eocene crabs from numerous underground caves.
- Researched the Little Ice Age climate in Florida as recorded in shell growth and longevity of ancient coquina clams, and studied shell growth and seasonality as recorded in shells of prehistoric hard clams.
- Continued participation in National Science Foundation-sponsored collaborative project with the University of South Florida to provide undergraduate research experiences.
Museum Studies
- Studied impact of Native American encounters on natural history, especially accounts of 16th-century Neotropics and management of commercial deer hunting in the 18th-century Southeast.
- Created New World Harvest, a teachers manual for the University of Florida Center of International Studies.
Vertebrate Zoology
- Investigated turtle population conservation relative to water quality in Missouri and the Santa Fe River, Fla.
- Continued research on the ecology of cottonmouths at their northern range.
- Continued research on the reproduction, distribution, ecological status and impact of introduced exotic reptiles in south Florida, including boa constrictors and pythons, the Texas horned toad, Green iguana and African rainbow lizard.
- Studied the genetic diversity of the Eastern Indigo snake in Florida and southeastern Georgia.
- Described a new species of gecko from Pakistan.
- Began development of a distributed information network of North American herpetological databases (Herpnet).
- Curator and former Museum Director F. Wayne King retired in February and was appointed curator emeritus.
- Richard Franz received UF President's Award for 25 years of service to the Katherine Ordway Preserve.
The Katharine Ordway Chair in Ecosystem Conservation
- Continued research on effects of urbanization on community ecology and population dynamics of birds in Florida.
- Documented retaliatory "mafia" behavior by cowbirds to induce host acceptance of parasitic eggs.
- Studied migrant bird communities in the West Indies.
- Researched factors underlying elevational distributions of birds in the Andes.
- Conducted comparative studies of fossil and modern bird communities in Venezuela.
- Studied habitat selection in Amazonian birds.
- Added specimens from 55 countries, including China, Indonesia, Mexico, Tanzania and the United States to the Museum's fish collection.
- Began revision of Peterson Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes of North America.
- Continued National Science Foundation research project All Catfish Species Inventory, including describing seven new catfishes and revising taxonomy of certain Asian catfishes.
- Developed chromosome specific paints to study variability and evolution in fishes.
- Studied speciation and effects of hybridization in pickerels.
- Conducted survey of genetic variation in Florida freshwater fishes.
- Developed Taxonomic Information on Catfishes web site, which provides descriptions, identification keys and distributional information for hundreds of species of North and South American, African and Asian catfishes.
Florida Program for Shark Research
- Monitored, documented, evaluated and reported on shark attacks and other shark/human interactions on worldwide basis through Florida Museum International Shark Attack File.
- Involved in international conservation of sharks and rays through the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Shark Specialist Group and other initiatives.
- Collaborated on federal fishery management plans for U.S. East Coast sharks.
- Conducted Project Shark Awareness and Sawfish in Peril educational programs and workshops for teachers and science educators throughout Florida, discussing shark and sawfish biology, fisheries and conservation.
- New species of latern shark, Etmopterus burgessi, named after George Burgess.
Florida Program for Shark Research research included:
- Fishery independent sampling of commercially exploited sharks.
- Studies of the age, growth and reproduction of commercially important sharks.
- Movement and migration studies of ecologically important elasmobranchs, including bull sharks and skates in the Indian River Lagoon, Fla.
- Monitored elasmobranch nursery and pupping areas in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
- Fatty acid analysis for elasmobranch diet reconstruction.
- Studied life history and morphology of commercially exploited skate and ray species.
- Developed age-structured simulation model for the dusky shark.
- Continued work on BioCorder project, a biodiversity inventory tracking system.
- Continued research on parasitic lice of primates and rates of evolution.
- Studied lice as markers of human evolutionary history.
- Continued research on Florida panthers, including the use of stable isotopes and Harris lines to assess the health and diet of endangered Florida Panthers.
- Researched biogeography and systematics of birds in the Americas, across five regions and time periods.
- Studied Miocene, Pleistocene and Holocene birds from the Thomas Farm site, Fla., northern Mexico and southwestern United States, the Bahamian Archipelago, Trinidad and Tobago, and tar seeps in northern Venezuela.
- Conducted research focused on resolving the deep nodes in Avian phylogeny.
- Studied the diversity and habitats of wintering Neotropical migrant birds on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands.
- Continued research on human-influenced extinction of bird populations worldwide.
- Received donation of 20 original avian sketches and final plates painted in the 1960s by the late Arthur Singer.
- Collaborated on a Museum exhibit on Ivory-billed woodpeckers.
- David Steadman named UF Faculty Achievement Recognition honoree.
- Continued collaboration on The 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, largescale global warming.
- Continued investigation of the origin and early evolution of primates, including discovery of the world's most primitive primate skeleton.
- Continued research on the first vertebrates and plants from a neotropical rainforest in northern Colombia.
- Studied Pliocene vertebrates from Florida.
- Continued excavations at Haile 7G vertebrate site.
- Continued research on macroevolution and geochemistry of Cenozoic giant sharks.
- Researched Eocene-Oligocene mammals and climate change.
- Initiated research on Miocene mammals from Panama and Cenozoic mammals along the Panama Canal.
- Continued research on fossil tortoises in Florida, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and the Bahamas.
- Refined the age of the late Neogene terror bird by analysis of rare earth elements.
- Installed cryogenic freezer to store Museum's genetic resources—currently more than 5,000 samples of plants, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fishes.
- Developed database to manage source specimens and their genetic information.
- Launched web site to publicize the Museum's genetic resource holdings and to facilitate data dissemination to the global scientific community.