Funds requested from the FLMNH graduate travel grant supported air travel and lodging in Grand Rapids, Michigan to attend the annual Botany Meeting. Every year, botanists from around the globe gather for the Annual Botany Meeting, a celebration of all things green, growing, and research. This year Botany was in Grand Rapids, and the theme was “Plants in a Changing World,” a reflection of the pressing challenges and innovations in plant science as we navigate environmental changes.
The 2024 meeting was a fusion of diverse research, inspiring keynotes, and engaging workshops. Taking place from July 15-19 and featured a range of topics from molecular plant biology to ecological conservation. I present my project titled “Understanding the Evolutionary History of the North American Desert genus Fouquieria through Phylogenomics and Niche Modeling” during the poster session. I attend many talks on biogeography, phylogenetics, and polyploid research. I plan to present my results next year as a talk.
Workshop sessions available were on GIS, trait evolution, and many more. I attended the “Introduction to Phylogenetic Comparative Methods in R” facilitated by John J. Schenk and Paige Fabre. The workshop was a step-by-step lesson on trait evolution, assessing different models of trait evolution, and conducting diversification analyses. We use many datasets of previous projects, one of which, was my advisor’s project in Campanulaceae. One aspect of my dissertation is floral trait evolution, and this experience was great to begin considering my datasets I would use and the various analyses I could conduct.
Emeline Pano is a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, advised by Dr. Nico Cellinese, Curator of the Herbarium and Informatics here at the Florida Museum.
The 2024 Summer Student Travel Awards are supported by the FLMNH Department of Natural History, including funds from the Louis C. and Jane Gapenski Endowed Fellowship and the B.J. and Eve Wilder Endowment. If you would like to help support this fund for future student awards, please go to:
Louis C. and Jane Gapenski Endowed Fellowship
B.J. and Eve Wilder Endowment