Evon Hekkala

I study DNA from specimens from museums to understand how life has responded to planetary changes over time. I have sequenced DNA from crocodile mummies and from extinct crocodiles, as well as from hundreds of other specimens including century old frogs, lizards, chipmunks and leopards.This area of research (ancient or archival DNA) is rapidly expanding with new techniques and these are exciting times for scientists like me.

Although I conduct research on ancient DNA from many animals species, including crocodiles, I wasn't always a scientist and I think that crowd funding is a great way to let people know that everyone can be involved in science no matter what their background.

I had an interesting path to my career in science. You can check it out in more detail here, but I started out as an art student which is why, when I began to study crocodiles, I noticed all of the interesting paintings of "ceiling crocodiles" and the carvings of the crocodile god Sobek related to fertility and health. I happened to take a course on the history of evolutionary theory and was hooked. I switched to anthropology and began studying archeology while volunteering at natural history museums in Montreal, eventually landing a curatorial assistant position at Cal Academy in San Francisco. I think the combination or art history, natural history collections and conservation of crocodiles stirred my fascination with the ways in which people's belief systems intersect with science. Who can resist wanting to know more about the crocodiles hanging from the ceilings of apothecary shops? and who can resist the Crocodylus Apothecary Hypothesis?

Along with this project, we are analyzing genetic data from extinct crocodiles in Madagascar to look at patterns of recent colonization. One hypothesis that we are testing is that impacts associated with the arrival of humans and Nile crocodiles may have resulted in the extinction of Madagascar's endemic horned crocodile (Voay robustus).

August 2013