Evolutionary Ecology of the Silver Palm (Coccothrinax argentata) in San Salvador, Bahamas.

By Jennifer Meader

I had the opportunity this spring to join a small team with Dr. Goebel and Dr. Cross to assist in their long-term research project studying the growth and recovery of Coccothrinax argentata (silver thatch palm) for two weeks in San Salvador, Bahamas. It was a unique chance to experience real rough-and-tumble ecological field work abroad, and to start looking at how the smaller questions we were exploring fit into a bigger ecological picture.

I was given an undergraduate scholarly award to assist in the expenses of staying at Gerace Research Center during the trip. Gerace is a repurposed military base, occupied by students and faculty from other schools around the U.S. who stay for research and courses that their school offers to teach abroad. I enjoyed the unexpected experience of talking to members of other schools and learning about the wide variety of subjects that were being studied and taught within other disciplines around the island.

Our days were long and full, waking up early to grab breakfast, pack the truck, and hit the road to the palm populations. We spent most of our days measuring the individual trees that have been revisited year after year. Taking down height changes, leaf growth, seed production, changes in development and new seedling growth. I didn’t expect the field work to be easy but it’s another thing entirely to experience it firsthand. I had to maintain diligent about not only the information I was gathering but keeping stock of myself and my physical well-being. Water intake, sun exposure, heat, and environmental hazards had to be in the back of my mind while keeping a working pace. It was very hands-in-the-dirt work, and I loved the challenges it presented and how rewarding it was at the end of the day during data entry to put more information in than I had the day before.

The information I gained in two weeks was astounding. Actively observing, touching, and interacting with the population sample areas and trying to piece together interactions, as well as being in an environment where I was welcome to ask each one of the many questions that flitted through my mind, provided me with an immense amount of knowledge and perspective that couldn’t be taught indoors. Throughout the trip I gained an appreciation and even affection for the little trees, my fellow undergrad and I even started singing happy birthday to individuals who had met a milestone in the last year.

In the evenings we’d regroup at dinner to go over how much was done, what still needed to be done, and what the best plan of action was for the next day. Then we had just enough time to reorganize the materials, data sheets, and supplies for the next day's population and get some rest for the next day.

While the bulk of the experience and knowledge was surrounding the silver palm, I came away from the experience with substantially more: cultural experiences and story sharing with the San Salvador locals, spontaneous botany lessons, bird identification road games, and field work experience that I can carry with me throughout my academic and professional life. The most fulfilling part of the trip is that the work that my peer and I did while there is contributing to a larger project answering previously unknown questions about the trees we were studying, being a piece of a larger whole and contributing to overall ecological knowledge.