Jamie Vaudrey

Research Coordinator

Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve

Professional experience

Jamie is a marine ecosystems ecologist and modeler, interested in the impacts of humans on coastal waters. She received a B.A. in Biology with a minor in Philosophy from Wellesley College, MA; moved on to a six year-stint in environmental education in the Florida Keys, then in Oregon; then on to graduate school at the University of Connecticut. Jamie was the UConn lead, shepherding the establishment of a NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve in Connecticut and is currently the Research Coordinator for the Reserve. Jamie is also involved with EPA’s National Estuary Program, serving on the science advisory committees of the Long Island Sound Study and the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program. Jamie is also involved with local community-based monitoring groups as an advisor and works as the science co-advisor for Save the Sound’s Unified Water Study and Long Island Sound Report Card effort. You can learn more about her research interests by visiting her website: https://vaudrey.lab.uconn.edu/

What is your favorite Reserve site?

“My favorite piece of the Reserve is definitely Mumford Cove! I first “met” Mumford Cove as a graduate student, 24 years ago – the study location of my dissertation. In 1999, eelgrass was just starting to recolonize the Cove and I had the opportunity to document the progress of its’ return, working with a team of fellow grad students and undergrads who are still some of my best friends today. I also studied total ecosystem metabolism in this system, advised a student studying the heat budget in the Cove, and with another student evaluating the ecosystem services in a restored marsh located in the Cove. I’ve met and worked with people who worked in that Cove in the seventies and eighties, and follow ongoing work in the Cove, such as Hannes’ work with silversides and water quality along the beach. Amazing how much a small Cove has to teach, and how many opportunities it provides. Next up (new skills, new challenge)… searching for beetles, bats, and invasive plants!”