There are few places in Southwest Florida where evidence of people of the Late Archaic period through modern times is preserved. Calusa Island, separated from the Northern terminus of Pine Island by Jug Creek, is one such place. In the June 2016 edition of this newsletter (available here on
FPAN archaeologist Rachael Kangas led the excavation unit.
These days, climate change is a hot topic. What will happen as temperatures rise more rapidly than humans have documented in modern history? Will birds and mammals flock or will they be able to acclimate? Who will become extinct? In recent years, scientists have strived to understand the a
were smaller during that time, the analysis of different-sized Sifrhippus teeth led
For a few weeks each year, dozens of people stop their everyday activities to put on clothes they don’t mind getting dirty, drive to the middle of nowhere and dig in the dirt and mud for fossils. Neither professional archaeologists nor paleontologists, the volunteers are like angels for the Flori
found there – from amphibians and reptiles to three-toed horses and bear-dogs – has led
The showy colors of some butterflies could advertise their speed and nimbleness, much like a coat of bright yellow paint on a sports car. A new study shows birds can learn to recognize these visual cues, avoiding not only butterflies they’ve failed to nab in the past but similar-looking species as w
had varying levels of tolerance for the bad-tasting almond, said Páez, who co-led
Imagine looking down on where you live from 20,000 feet above. Now imagine 95 percent of what’s below has never been seen. That’s what it’s like exploring the deep sea—the planet’s largest and most unknown habitat. The deep-sea environment is ominous and harsh. There is no light and the pressure
Hindrances in investigating unexplored areas of the ocean during netting expeditions led
From the jungles of Southeast Asia to the Greek Islands, Florida Museum of Natural History botanist Nico Cellinese has searched for the answers to how evolution works. But during fieldwork in the Mediterranean Basin—a biodiversity hotspot—she found more questions than answers. “There are so many
of the group was likely the result of ancient geologic and tectonic events that led
Call it a galactic joy ride, but on Oct. 23, 2007, NASA’s 120th shuttle mission launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, with hundreds of thousands of miniscule stowaways stashed inside the solid rocket boosters, unbeknownst to anyone. Had they hitched their ride on the main shuttle, the gobs of my
The unusual yellow powder led technicians refurbishing the booster rockets to seek
Smaug, the deadly dragon in J.R.R. Tolkien’s „The Hobbit,“ has a few living relatives. With dense, alligator-like armor, these small, real-life dragon lizards are rock-crevice recluses mostly confined to mountaintops in southern Africa. Now, herpetologists Michael Bates, a curator at South Africa’s
being spiky and inedible, so they don’t have to put up a big fight.� Stanley led
The spring sun glinted off the cars rolling through Ichetucknee Springs State Park, but the caravan wasn’t headed to the park’s famous recreation spots. It was there for conservation, and the scientists in the lead were towing the precious cargo: tiny green caterpillars. Entering a trail road typica
We’re learning a lot of new things about it.â€� Daniels’ lab, which led the introduction
Deep in the forests of Haiti lives the blue-eyed La Hotte glanded frog (Eleutherodactylus glandulifer), which once went 20 years without being observed by scientists. It belongs to a diverse genus from the Caribbean that also includes the much more common coquí frog (Eleutherodactylus coquí), a cult
Photo by chziemke, CC-BY-NC 4.0 DNA analysis led scientists to believe that Caribbean
