Kayla Clauson
Current Job: Environmental Scientist
Current Project: Freshwater surveys across the state
State(s) working in: Delaware
Where are you from: Long Island, NY
What do you think is the main reason we should protect SAV?
It's often underestimated ability to improve water quality, especially freshwater species providing these resources upstream across the freshwater-marine continuum.
How do you feel your research will make a difference in the SAV community?
Surveying freshwater species in DE will not only help put the First State on the map in the SAV world but will also highlight the importance for other states to incorporate freshwater surveys into their current work plans.
What is one of your best memories working with SAV?
Underwater SCUBA surveys in Jamaica (Thalassia testudinum)!
What keeps you motivated to keep caring about the future of SAV?
It's really motivating that SAV is a more prominent discussion in research and regulatory fields. The more work that gets done, the more informed researchers and policy makers are, allowing SAV to have a better chance at making an ecological difference to our waterways.
More about Kayla’s story
Growing up, I've always been fascinated by the ecology of marine organisms. My earliest memories are of those made camping on the beach in Montauk, observing creatures in the jetty at low tide while my great grandfather would fish off the rocks. It's safe to say that my curiosity of the marine world never changed and drove my professional career. I went on to get degrees in Marine Sciences (B.S.) and Marine Conservation and Policy (M.A.) through Stony Brook University. I've studied abroad at the Discovery Bay Marine Lab (Jamaica) focusing on tropical ecology and at the Cape Eleuthera Institute (Bahamas) learning about apex predators within Marine Protected Areas. For my graduate Capstone Project, I quantified the number of spawning horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) and their associated parasitic interactions across a North-South gradient on the remote Prudence Island (Rhode Island) within Narraganset Bay for the first time. It's safe to say my interests in the marine world allowed me to gain experiences in a lot of various topics, ranging from seagrasses to sharks- I know a little bit about a lot! When not working, I can be found adventuring outside or spending time with my family and pets (often times dragging them with me for those outdoor adventures).
As an Environmental Scientist with Delaware's Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), I am able to use my previous experiences and expand my knowledge to focus on SAV in Delaware. I currently am the lead for our internal SAV Workgroup and started last year organizing and conducting the first freshwater SAV survey since 2005. With these survey efforts, I hope to gain insight on what SAV we have and where they exist across the state. There's no denying I've made a jump to a more freshwater focus from the marine side of things. But I believe the importance of freshwater species in comparison to seagrasses is often overlooked, even though freshwater SAV serves an important role in upstream water quality across the freshwater-marine continuum. This year our survey focus is on the Nanticoke River, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. Simultaneously, I am working with partners at the Center for the Inland Bays and Sea Grant to create DE's first turbulator. This turbulator will be used for restoration efforts within the Inland Bays, aiming to restore 1 acre of Ruppia maritima each year for two years.
