Dillon Doomstorm, who participated in the UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography’s (SkIO) Semester at Skidaway program in fall 2022, is now a graduate student at Hampton University in the Department of Environmental Science under Joseph Reustle as a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center (LMRCSC) fellow.
Doomstorm, who grew up in Smyrna, Georgia, received a bachelor’s degree in ocean science from the Department of Marine Sciences at UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences and a minor in ecology from UGA’s Odum School of Ecology in May 2022. After graduating, Doomstorm participated in a National Science Foundation (NSF) postbaccalaureate research program, working with Amanda Spivak, a professor in the UGA Department of Marine Sciences. He then worked as a field technician in UGA Department of Marine Sciences assistant professor Jimmy Nelson’s lab.
SkIO: What are you researching at Hampton University?
Dillon Doomstorm (DD): At Hampton University I am researching two key topics.
The first is the effects of urbanization across the Chesapeake Bay on paired natural and restored oyster reefs within rural and urban areas (within seven tributaries), assessing species richness through predator exclusion experiments.
The second is assessing the food web through stable isotope analysis within the seven tributaries to understand food web complexity and potential diet shifts within specific organisms (blue crabs and mud crabs) paired with natural and restored reefs within urban and rural waterways within the Chesapeake Bay.
SkIO: What inspired your love of marine science and, more specifically, your track of study?
DD: My love for marine science started with watching River Monsters on Animal Planet as a kid. This inspired me to want to investigate what mysteries our marine systems could hold. This, along with going fishing with my friends, is what initially started my journey in marine science. I came to studying ocean science and minoring in ecology after switching my major from biology with a marine concentration at UGA. I made the switch because I was missing the hands-on component of ecology but also the environmental interactions that ocean science gave me as a student. Switching my degree gave me a strong interdisciplinary background in biology, chemistry, physics and geology that truly pushed me to where I am today.
SkIO: How did your time at SkIO/UGA influence your education/career path and prepare you for where you are today?
DD: My time at Skidaway influenced my career greatly. At SkIO, I was able to secure my first undergraduate research in Dr. Rivero-Calle’s lab working with her master’s student Mallie Hunt. This research experience, alongside the many assignments, presentations, lab work and learning R (a coding language), truly pushed me. Additionally, I was able to learn many lab and field skills, allowing me to work with many different instruments and talk to each professor about their careers to figure out how to navigate becoming an ocean scientist. From my work at SkIO, I was able, as an undergraduate, to participate and present in my first conference, giving me a chance to communicate my research.
SkIO: After earning your bachelor’s degree, you worked in the UGA Department of Marine Sciences. Tell us about your time in that position and what you learned or took away?
DD: After graduating, I took the skills that I had learned from SkIO and obtained an NSF postbaccalaureate, working with Amanda Spivak for one year. This was an amazing opportunity, as it gave me one year of research experience. I worked with Amanda and her doctoral student Britany, working with biogeochemical fluxes within salt marshes along the eastern coast of the United States and looking at how fiddler crabs influence them through bioturbation. Working with Dr. Spivak and Britany gave me a plethora of skills in science and communication, as I presented at the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF) Conference and a couple other conferences that year, building my network.
Working with Dr. Spivak is where I met Dr. Jimmy Nelson and joined his lab as a field and lab technician. Working as a field technician in the Nelson Lab furthered my skill set. I was able to lead independent research projects in Plum Island Estuaries, a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program in Massachusetts, and help teach the multiple NSF Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) students who Dr. Nelson and collaborators work with in the summer.
In addition, I was able to work on three other projects within the Nelson Lab. I worked on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) project, which allowed me to spend time in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, where we took the R/V Acadiana from Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium into the Gulf of Mexico to collect nekton samples at dredge sites to test for isotope analysis. I was also trained and licensed as a drone pilot to help collect data on salt marsh recession in Sapelo Island. I learned how to use multiple imaging and mapping software such as GIS PRO, and eCognition. Within the lab, I helped to process over four different projects for Stable Isotope Analysis (SIA). This involved species identification, wet processing, and weighing and wrapping samples to be sent out for analysis.
My time with the Nelson Lab helped me to solidify my interests and further build my network to find graduate school. My three years working as a postbaccalaureate and lab technician helped me to build a stronger background in the scientific method, coding, field research and science communication to pursue a master’s degree at Hampton University.
SkIO: What do you do for fun, outside of work?
DD: Outside of studying, reading papers and coding I am an avid gym-goer, hiker and love to try and make new dishes for dinner. I am currently trying to find new hobbies; I think I will pick up fishing again.
About SkIO
The UGA Skidaway Institute of Oceanography (SkIO) is a multidisciplinary research and education institution located on Skidaway Island near Savannah, Georgia. The Institute was founded in 1967 with a mission to conduct research in all fields of oceanography. In 2013, SkIO was merged with the University of Georgia. The campus serves as a gateway to coastal and marine environments for programs throughout the University System. The Institute’s primary goals are to further the understanding of marine and environmental processes, conduct leading-edge research on coastal and marine systems, and train tomorrow’s scientists.