10/03/2026
On the first Saturday in October, Dr. Ken Sulak will give a presentation entitled 'Finding Florida in the 1800s - Indian Trailmarker Trees Point the Way'.
Ken will inform the audience about Indian Trailmarker trees in the Suwannee River Basin, many of which are located at or point to springs.
Want to be aware of what to look for when hiking? Make sure to attend what is sure to be a memorable lecture on Oct. 3rd in High Springs! The lecture will be held in-person at the Florida Springs Welcome Center (18645 High Springs Main Street High Springs, FL 32643), and here, via Facebook Live.
Dr. Ken Sulak Biography:
Kenneth Sulak is a research fish ecologist retired from the U.S. Geological Survey in 2016. Dr. Sulak has Ph.D. and Masters degrees from the University of Miami School of Marine Science, and a Bachelor's degree from Harvard University. From 1985-1994 he was Director and Senior Fish Biologist at the Atlantic Reference Center, New Brunswick, Canada. He has conducted international research as a NATO Fellow in England, a U.S. National Academy Exchange Scientist to Russia, and as Chief Scientist leading oceanographic research cruises in the Atlantic, Arctic, East Pacific and Indian oceans. He has 60 years of experience researching fish ecology in the deep sea, the coastal ocean, estuaries, Gulf Coast rivers, and Florida springs.
Dr. Sulak has published extensively on marine fish community ecology and sturgeon life history and conservation. His Gulf Sturgeon research filled critical gaps in knowledge of life history, population biology and habitat requirements in coastal rivers and the Gulf of Mexico, facilitating conservation of this species. Offshore research focused on deep-reef fish communities off the U.S. East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, and on Yellowfin Tuna attracted to oil rigs. Ken led four years of intensive research on the impacts of the BP oil spill upon Gulf of Mexico shelf-edge reef fish communities. He is a founding member of the North American Sturgeon and Paddlefish Society.
For the past three decades Ken has also paddled into the past, exploring the history of North Florida early settlers, their river crossings, and their impact on the ecology of the Suwannee River ecosystem. A series of historical articles continue to be published, and public lectures continue to be presented on topics from river ecology to early settler history. Personal river and springs research now centers upon the life history of Longnose Gar and the interrelated ecology of water lettuce in North Florida spring runs. Dr. Sulak also continues to serve as shoreside deep-sea fish scientist for ROV expeditions of NOAA RV Okeanos Explorer and Ocean Exploration Trust EV Nautilus expeditions in the abyssal Pacific Ocean.
