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FLMNH Annual Report 2002-2003

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FLMNH Annual Report 2002-2003 FLORIDAFLMNH MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY Annual Report 2002-2003 The Florida Museum of Natural History is Florida’s state museum of natural history, dedicated to understanding and preserving biological diversity and cultural heritage. THIS REPORT WA S PRODUCED BY: Florida Museum of Natural History Marketing and Public Relations PO Box 112710 Gainesville, FL 32611-2710 e-mail: [email protected] Editor: Paul Ramey, APR Editorial Assistant: Kristin Ede Contributing writers: Betty Camp, Ph.D. Darcie MacMahon Susan Pharr David Steadman, Ph.D. About the cover: Design: Cindy McMillen Invertebrate Paleontology Collection Manager Roger Portell collected this Printing: StorterChilds 3-million-year-old carnivorous snail, Ecphora quadricostata, from a Photography: Charlotte County shell quarry. Jeff Gage Photo by Sean Roberts Tammy Johnson Scott Mitchell Matyas Buzgo Carlton Ward from “Gamba: The Edge of Africa” Sean Roberts John Slapcinsky Andrei Sourakov DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE Already affected by shrinking endowment portfolios, an alarming number of state and university natural history museums came under assault this year as state legislatures across the country scrambled to deal with sizable revenue shortfalls. Many museums faced budget reductions, down-sizing, and in a few cases, outright elimination. The severity of the situation was reported widely in the press as the museum community tried to rally support, led by organizations such as the Natural Science Collections Alliance and the American Association of Museums. Against this bleak backdrop, I am pleased to report the Florida Museum of Natural History experienced one of its finest years ever. A very supportive and creative university administration helped us weather the third straight year of cuts to the university budget while our researchers and educators brought in a record total of external grant funding. As a result, 2002-2003 had a multitude of highlights. On Oct. 5 we opened our second permanent exhibition hall, “South Florida People and Environments,” which is not only breathtakingly beautiful, but also enormously popular. In the fall, construction commenced on McGuire Hall, our exciting new home for Lepidoptera and environmental studies. The McGuire Family Foundation pledged an additional $3 million in late 2002 to create the McGuire Institute for Biodiversity and the Environ- ment at the museum. This wonderful gift galvanizes our research and educational thrusts in this arena, consistent with the biological and environmental science emphasis identified in the University of Florida strategic plan. In February the museum hosted “Passport to the Groovy ’60s,” a very popular and highly successful, ‘far-out’ fundraiser organized by the Museum Associates. The museum then joined in the celebration of the university’s sesquicentennial (1853-2003) by planning a huge 150th birthday party and million-dollar fundraiser, “Party on the Plaza,” with its neighbors at the UF Cultural Plaza – the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art and the Curtis M. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. A notable highlight in spring 2003 was the opening of “The Pearsall Collection of American Indian Art: 40th Anniversary Selections” produced by guest curator Sandra Starr. This fabulous exhibition features more than 200 of the finest pieces from the museum’s Leigh Morgan Pearsall Collection, many of which have never been exhibited. The exhibition will remain on display indefinitely. At the museum’s Randell Research Center in Pineland, we broke ground on our new teaching pavilion, interpreted trail and parking lot. These much-anticipated site improvements will enable Drs. Bill Marquardt, John Worth, Karen Walker, and the rest of the museum team in Southwest Florida to share the unfolding mysteries of the Calusa with students, Floridians and tourists from all over the globe. Distinguished Research Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology Dr. S. David Webb retired in June 2003. Friends, colleagues, and former students gathered in May for “WebbFéte” to celebrate Dave’s brilliant 39-year career at the museum. Fortunately for us, Dave plans to spend at least part of each year in Gainesville, dividing his time between Florida and Montana. And despite the university’s budgetary challenges, the museum was able to hire a replacement for Dave as well as fill a long-standing vacancy by hiring a new assistant curator of mammals. Both new faculty members will arrive in 2003-2004. Speaking of new faculty, we welcomed Dr. Scott Robinson from the University of Illinois to the museum this year. Scott holds our Eminent Scholar Chair as Ordway Professor of Ecosystem Conservation, the position formerly held by Dr. John Eisenberg. In these complex economic times, when many of our sister institutions across the nation are struggling for survival, the Florida Museum of Natural History remains healthy and vigorous. By focusing on the core elements of our mission and performing at a consistently high level, I believe we can predict many more highlights in the year ahead. Douglas S. Jones, Ph.D. Director, Florida Museum of Natural History Florida Museum of Natural History Annual Report 2002-2003 1 COLLECTIONS AND RESEARCH Archaeology, Ethnography, guished research curator David Webb and site of Mayapan in Museum Studies his students and colleagues. Ceramicist Ann Yucatan, Mexico. She also visited Cordell completed investigations of pottery Mayapan in July 2002. Along with museum Kitty Emery, assistant curator of and clay samples from archaeological sites in registrar Elise LeCompte, Milbrath oversaw Environmental Archaeology, did field work at Volus ia, Polk and Lee counties. the move of the museum’s ethnographic the Mayan site of Motul de San Jose, collection from the first floor to improved Guatemala, with a focus on how the ancient Curator William Marquardt saw space on the third floor. This will allow for Maya interacted with plants and animals. completion of our permanent exhibit South badly needed expansion of archaeological Along with collection managers Irvy Florida People and Environments, based in collections on the first floor of Dickinson Quitmyer and Sylvia Scudder, large part on research that he, Karen Walker, Hall, a process that we hope to complete archaeobotanist Donna Ruhl and assistant John Worth and colleagues have completed at during 2003-04. Some 211 objects from the scientist Karen Walker, Emery’s Environmen- the museum’s Randell Research Center on Pearsall Collection of North American Indian Pine Island in Lee County. The Randell tal Archaeology team has made great Artifacts were put on display at Powell Hall. A Research Center received major support this progress in analyzing soils, plants and both grant of $14,920 from the John S. and James year from the Maple Hill Foundation marine and terrestrial animals throughout L. Knight Foundation and the Pew Charitable ($60,000) and the National Endowment for the Caribbean region (Florida, West Indian Trusts allowed 300 artifacts in the Pearsall the Humanities ($200,000). islands, Middle America). These studies help Collection to be catalogued and digitally us understand complex prehistoric changes Curator William Keegan completed a photographed. in climate, sea level, soils, forest cover and second year of archaeology on St Lucia in Curator Charlotte Porter spearheaded animal populations. collaboration with Corinne Hofman and our involvement in the UF Museum Studies Menno Hoogland of the University of Leiden, Our program in Historical Archaeology Program by teaching courses on exhibitry The Netherlands. Other research on continues to investigate early Spanish and museum writing, as well as a course on Caribbean archaeology by Keegan, his settlements in Florida (St. Augustine) and natural areas for the UF Honors Program. students and colleagues involved prehistoric the Caribbean. Distinguished research Continuing her research on the history of depletion of animal populations in the Turks curator Kathleen Deagan received a $48,620 science and exploration in Florida, Porter and Caicos Islands and detailed analyses of grant from Discovery Communications Inc. also was involved with a number of exhibits, artifacts and faunal remains from Jamaica. to investigate La Navidad, which was lectures and other forms of outreach on this An ongoing series of popular articles in the Christopher Columbus’s 1492 fortress in topic around the state. Porter was selected as magazine Times of the Islands is making the Haiti. She and collection manager Al Woods a founding member of the UF Libraries prehistory of the rapidly developing Turks surveyed and excavated this site for two Leadership Board. Along with Wayne King, months during the summer of 2003. A grant and Caicos Islands much more accessible to curator of Herpetology, she edited a major of $84,000 from the National Endowment for residents and visitors alike. collection of research papers in the Humanities will allow Woods and Deagan Susan Milbrath, curator of Latin zooarchaeology to honor Elizabeth Wing, to create an on-line digital type-collection for American Art and Archaeology, published a who retired from the museum two years ago historic artifacts. Digital photography of the major review paper on the prehistoric Mayan but remains active in research. ceramics already is completed. After 28 years of outstanding research and writing about Florida archaeology, curator Jerald Milanich began phased retirement this year. His writing projects have not diminished, however, and we can look forward to a continued flow of books and articles by
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