Author: Jillian Daly, Communications Specialist
Grace’s research focuses on comparing oyster restoration methods installed in 2018 on Carrot Island, which is part of the Rachel Carson Reserve in Beaufort, NC. One method uses an oyster shell bag approach for restoration, and the other a novel breakwater substrate known as Oyster CatcherTM. Additionally, she surveyed nearby natural oyster reefs for comparison. Studying two different shorelines on Carrot Island also allowed her to compare biodiversity and habitat characteristics between the two restoration approaches and how those factors have changed over time.
Oysters are a vital part of the coast. They contribute to keeping our water clean—a single oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water a day! They also provide fish habitat and food for us to eat. However, oyster populations have been declining on a global scale, so Grace’s research comes at a critical moment. There is immense interest in oyster restoration and maintaining the natural benefits, or ecosystem services, that oyster populations provide. Grace hopes that “the results can be used to help resolve some of the uncertainty surrounding oyster reef restoration both in NC and beyond.”
Grace explains that “oyster restoration is sometimes easier said than done, as there are a variety of challenges affiliated with different restoration methods, limitations on project funding, effort, and time required to restore a system, and a general uncertainty about the process due to a historical lack of long-term monitoring. To address this issue on a local scale, my research focuses on assessing the success of restoration efforts implemented at Carrot Island, utilizing the Reserve as a living laboratory.”
Based on previous monitoring efforts from 2018-2020, it was found that the Oyster CatcherTM reefs outperformed the shell bags, especially in lower wave energy shorelines. Grace anticipates seeing these results continue in her monitoring surveys, where she combines reef measurements, active and passive sampling of reef resident organisms, and parasite diversity assessments to track any changes. Mud snails, for example, act as a host to trematode parasites, and the abundance of parasite species actually acts as an indicator of food web complexity and ecosystem health. She expects her research will show the reefs to be more biodiverse -- in both their free-living and parasite richness -- than before the restoration projects.
Now, Grace has been consolidating her findings into her M.S. thesis and plans to publish the research so it can benefit restoration managers on a broader scale.
When she is not in the field or in the lab, Grace enjoys reading, being outside, whether that is hiking, kayaking, walking, playing soccer, and more! You can also find her seeking out used bookstores and boba shops. As a Coastal Research Fellow, she has also participated in outreach opportunities at the North Carolina Estuarium in Washington, NC, as well as attended a career day event at a local middle school.
Keep reading to learn more about Grace’s research and how she became a scientist:
What's your favorite aspect of your research?
I really enjoy the opportunity to analyze environmental changes over time and get a deeper understanding of a system by studying it from multiple perspectives and using data from various time points.
What's the coolest thing about your research?
I think the use of parasites as an indicator of overall community composition and restoration success is incredibly interesting, and I think it’s something that my audience is always interested to hear about. Most people are surprised to hear I’m interested in seeing more parasites to indicate greater restoration success, but when I explain that there has to be a large, healthy set of free-living organisms, or hosts like mud snails, present in a system for there to be a lot of parasites like the trematodes around to exploit them, they understand and seem quite intrigued by this phenomenon.
What's been your most surprising finding?
I was not expecting the reef condition at half my sites to change drastically between 2023 and 2024! The more exposed shoreline saw significant losses in oyster density over this time frame. While this was disappointing in terms of the initial perceived success of the reefs in this location, this information will be really important to consider in future restoration efforts.
Tell me a story about a memorable time in the field.
I got super stuck in the mud at Carrot Island at one point! It was early on in my sampling events and my field crew was split up into two teams to finish the work faster. One crew needed help, so I tried to cross the marsh to get to them. I started sinking pretty badly and there was no one around, so I ended up turning back the way I came. I had sunk and got mud all the way up to my chest and past my elbows! A graduate student helping me said it looked like I was wearing long dress gloves! It wasn’t a particularly horrible situation, but I was exhausted after crawling out and definitely never tried to cross that part of the marsh again!
What drew you to science? How did you end up here?
I’ve always enjoyed coastal environments, ranging from the rocky intertidal shores of Puget Sound that I grew up visiting or the sandy beaches and mangrove forests of south Florida, where I’m from. Over time I began to notice how they were changing; I heard from my relatives the changes they’d noticed over the course of their lifetimes. I became incredibly passionate about restoring these systems to ensure these habitats remain intact and can be enjoyed by future generations. Furthermore, I am dedicated to helping these habitats mitigate and adapt to the upcoming threats of climate change and other anthropogenic sources of disturbance. Fast forward to meeting one of my current advisors while I was an undergraduate student. She presented me with the opportunity to come to ECU to study coastal restoration. I was incredibly excited to do so.