FMU students see, catalogue the world

Living in Florence hasn’t stopped some biology students at Francis Marion University from seeing the world and cataloging it as they go.

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Travis Knowles, associate professor of biology and assistant provost of the university, said that when the opportunity to travel to Ecuador and explore the local flora and fauna presented itself, they agreed they had to take advantage of it.

Knowles, who spearheaded the trip, said he had some friends who established a wildlife preserve and a birding lodge called WildSumaco.

“They’re also interested in increasing opportunities for scientific study and conservation,” he said. “They’re still learning about what is present in their preserve and they’re interested in learning like many others in Latin America.”

Knowles said the project was centered around the use of infrared-triggered game cameras, commonly used by hunters in the Pee Dee, which the students used to track and document the animals living in the forest.

“The one we’re most interested in is the margay,” he said. “It’s a small spotted cat with a very long tail. They are unique as cats because they are able to rotate their hind legs around to come down a tree trunk head first.”

Dr. Natasha Vanderhoff, an assistant professor of biology, and Dr. Jeffery Camper, a professor of biology and coordinator of aqua fisheries and wildlife cooperative programs, also took part in the trip.

“It gives us a presence in other countries and gives the students a chance to go to places they ordinarily would never go,” Camper said. “To me, there is nothing more exciting than finding new species ... I find that very stimulating.”

Although a project of this sort is unusual for a school the size of FMU, that hasn’t stopped the faculty from making it work.

“I think it’s great that a school like FMU can go down there (and) be on the cutting edge of science,” Vanderhoff said. “Our students are able to go down there and experience this, too, and be a part of what I think is really important work.”

Knowles said the study of biodiversity is import because it allows scientists to see how wild animals adapt to humans. He said that in the area of Ecuador where the project took place, poverty has led to deforestation, which is driving some of the animals out of their natural habitats.

“Part of the problem is that people who live in those areas are very poor,” he said. “They don’t have good sources of income other than logging the forest. From this perspective, we are very happy to be working with WildSumaco because their role is to encourage conservation by hiring the local people ... so that they have an economic incentive to protect the forest rather than to cut it all down for some quick money.”

Vanderhoff said most people will never have a chance to go to the tropics and see the wildlife themselves, but through the project and the work of the students, Pee Dee residents can experience a little bit of life in the jungle.

Monica Sokol, a junior at the school who went on the trip, said the experience was one she won’t soon forget.

“I always wanted to go to another country,” she said. “It was great. I feel really blessed to have been able to do this. It’s a once in a lifetime thing and I’m really grateful for it.”