Above: Matt Whiles conducting research in the field. GAINESVILLE, Fla. --- Growing up in the Midwest, Matt Whiles learned quickly that the best place to find his favorite critters—insects, reptiles and amphibians—was around streams and wetlands. Water meant life. Later on as a freshwater ecologist, he would study how plants, animals and people depend on that most critical substance. So it’s no surprise that Whiles feels