Biography
Originally from Washington State in the US, Dylan’s initial interest in marine biology was focused on the rocky intertidal. While pursuing his undergraduate at the University of Oregon (Eugene, OR, USA) his interest expanded to seaweeds and seagrasses, in terms of phycology/botany, as well as ecology. After graduating, he served as a community based natural resource management volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps in Meru, Malawi for two years. Here he strengthened his commitment to community-based conservation, scientific communication, and community engagement. He obtained his M.Sc. from Stony Brook University (Stony Brook, NY, USA) in 2021, where he studied the relationship between mesograzers, epiphytes, and eelgrass along light stress gradients. Dylan taught introductory college-level marine science courses aboard a sailboat for two years before returning to research and joining the BEM Lab.
Research Interests
Dylan is a marine ecologist broadly interested in environmental stressors, biogeography, biodiversity, and long-term environmental monitoring. His research background has primarily focused on seagrasses and seaweeds - using them as model systems to test broad ecological theories such as the environmental stress model as well as to understand the role of seaweed concentrations in determining the success or failure of larval recruits. Dylan is passionate about effective global conservation and management efforts and this has led him to his current position helping create the first comprehensive list of non-native species in Saudi Arabian waters as well as a broader understanding of small, easily overlooked benthic invertebrates. A logical extension of this effort, and one that he is particularly excited about, is his participation in the Smithsonian’s MarineGeo network.
Non-KAUST Affiliations
MarineGeo (https://marinegeo.si.edu)
Research Interests Keywords
Facilitation
Multiple Stressors
Stress Gradients
Biodiversity
Seagrass
Community Ecology
Climate Change
Succession
Marine Restoration
Scientific Communication
