My Story
My name is Baylie Fadool from Nashville, Tennessee, and I am a master's student and graduate teaching assistant in the LAMP Lab under the advisement of Dr. Rene Martin.
I did my undergraduate degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated in December 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences. During my undergrad, I participated in a Coastal Ecology course in Sapelo Island, Georgia, and worked for the Cornhuskers football team for 5 seasons. I landed an internship after finishing school at the Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation – Shark Lab (BBFSF) that turned into a 3-year position.
Chelle Blais (Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation)
Throughout my time there, I was the Media Manager and Outreach Coordinator/ Research Assistant. As the Media Manager, I ran the social media pages and did underwater photography. In the Outreach Coordinator position, this is where I discovered my love of education while running conservation booths, leading weekly tours, designing and leading professional development workshops for educators, doing numerous in-person and virtual presentations, and speaking to local schools. I was also inspired to provide a marine study abroad learning experience for UNL students, so I worked with Dr. Lindsey Chizinski and Dr. Rene Martin to design a university course to bring students to the Bimini Shark Lab. This first trip was in January 2024, and we had such a blast that we will be continuing it every winter for the foreseeable future!
My work focuses on a shark called a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum). I have published research on their age and growth estimates over 17 years from Bimini, The Bahamas, showing that they are slow-growing and long-lived, estimating sexual maturity around 20 years of age and with longevities of up to 43 years. For my master’s research, I will continue focusing on the Bimini nurse shark population by examining their population genetics and acoustic telemetry movement data. The objectives of this work are to
- use SNPs to examine fine-scale population genetics of nurse sharks,
- determine genetic relatedness in the population, and
- examine their movement patterns in the area associated with reproduction, site fidelity, and philopatry/migration.
This research will aim to address the following questions:
- Are there any parent-offspring pairs in the population?
- Are nurse sharks born in Bimini contributing to the Bimini population at sexual maturity or do offspring migrate away?
- Is Bimini a pupping or nursery grounds for nurse sharks?
Chelle Blais (Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation)
Some additional experiences I have are appearing on a Sharkfest National Geographic show (Shark Attack Files, Season 2 Episode 4 "Get Smart") and traveling to the deep sea in a submarine to 400 m. I have also worked as a research scientist aboard a fishing vessel in northern Norway where I helped test a new bait to use for snow crab fishing. Additionally, I have led a marine biology camp for 3rd through 8th graders in Tennessee and have been a substitute teacher. I also volunteer for a few amazing organizations called Live Like Jay G3 Scholarship, Letters to a Pre-Scientist, and Ocean Culture Life.
I am thrilled to be back in Nebraska pursuing my master’s degree for various reasons, but what I am most excited for is to grow more as an educator and science communicator. I am excited to get involved in the amazing organizations and clubs that SNR has, such as the Graduate Student Association, the Fisheries Club, and the Marine Biology Club. Nebraska provides so many great opportunities for teaching and getting involved, and I am excited to share marine and shark science with the community here that may not be as familiar with it!
Please never hesitate to reach out to me with any questions. I love helping students, scientists, educators, and the general public in whatever way that may be!
Go Big Red!
Chelle Blais (Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation)