Thanks to the help of the Florida Museum of Natural History Travel Award, I conducted fieldwork in Cedar Key, Florida, in late February. Originally scheduled for October, the trip had to be postponed due to hurricanes. Fortunately, I was given an extension, allowing me to complete the work within February. The main objective of the fieldwork was to collect live sand dollar specimens, which will be used in a taxonomic study. For this, I planned to use a systematic sampling scheme across five sites in Cedar Key, with live specimens expected to be collected along a 20-meter transect at each location.
Friday February 21, 2025
My lab mates- Luis, Joo, Enrique and I departed for Cedar Key using the FM van. Luis is one of our divers while the other diver, Jake, was joining us the following day. We arrived at our Airbnb at around 6 PM. The house, located near the sea, had a beautiful view.
We unpacked and then went out for shopping for groceries. The nearest supermarket that was only a five-minute drive from our place had been destroyed by hurricanes last year. The only available choice that we had was Dollar General, where we did shopping for groceries. After dinner, we went to bed early.
Saturday February 22, 2025
We started the day early with breakfast and prepared sandwiches for lunch. Jake arrived in the morning, and by 8:30 AM, we were at the dock, where we met our boat captain, Brian. Our vessel was a flat-bottom boat, which was suitable since we stayed in the shallow waters. It was chilly, in spite of which the conditions were excellent and we were able to sample three sites on the first day. Fieldwork ran smoothly, and we collected a reasonable number of specimens.
Sunday February 23, 2025
The weather forecast predicted rain in the afternoon, and we also had to check out of the Airbnb by 11 AM. Unfortunately, I was unable to get a late checkout, as new guests were scheduled to arrive. This meant we had to complete our fieldwork without returning to the Airbnb afterward. We arrived at the dock by 8 AM and managed to sample two additional sites before the rain set in. These final sites had finer sediment compared to the first three locations. After completing our sampling, we packed up and headed back to Gainesville.
Importance
Beyond the direct contribution to my research, this field experience provided training in field methodology, an essential skill set in my professional career as a marine ecologist/taxonomist. Handling live samples, making precise morphological measurements, and functioning under different environmental conditions sharpened my skills in specimen collection, data management, and fieldwork techniques.
Findings from this study will be incorporated into one of my dissertation chapters that examines the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of sand dollars in the genus Encope. Specifically, the chapter will be focused on using a combined approach of geometric morphometrics and phylogenetics to improve species delineations as well as explore patterns of morphological evolution. Moreover, I plan to present the results of this study at the next annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB), which will be an opportunity for me to get presentation experience and networking with professionals in the fields of marine ecology and taxonomy.
I thank the Nature coast biological station for providing the boat and the Florida Museum of Natural History for the financial support. This travel grant enabled me to conduct this research, and improve my fieldwork skills, both essential in my personal and professional development.
Pamod Liyanagedara is a graduate student pursuing a Ph.D. through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, advised by Dr. Michal Kowalewski, Curator and Professor of Invertebrate Paleontology here at the Florida Museum.
The 2024 Fall 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