He drove 1,000 miles for seagrass, now he advocates for 10,000 miles of coastline

Braxton Davis crammed all of his belongings into his boxy blue Plymouth Sundance and drove 15 hours from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Miami. It was the mid-1990s, and he had seagrasses in his sights.

Davis had studied under University of Virginia’s pioneer of seagrass ecology, Jay Zieman, and originally wanted to pursue a graduate degree there. But when Davis met Zieman’s recent Ph.D. graduate Jim Fourqurean, it was kismet. Just as Fourqurean was embarking on his academic career at FIU, Davis signed on to be one of his first graduate students. His FIU experiences would put him on a career path that is helping to protect and restore water quality along North Carolina’s more than 10,000 miles of coastal sounds, estuaries and beaches. Last year, he was named executive director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation after nearly three decades of public service in coastal management in the Carolinas.

Diving Into Research at FIU

When first arriving at FIU, Davis dove headfirst (figuratively and literally) into Fourqurean’s lab, becoming his first lead field researcher. This included breaking in a new research vessel while learning to navigate the waters of Florida Bay and the Florida Keys. He mapped the marine ecosystem from shallow waters down to 100 feet — the deepest depth where seagrass is found.

“Braxton was eager to be the first person to lay eyes on whatever was on the bottom,” Fourqurean said. “He also wanted to avoid damaging the bottom with anchor drops.”

So as soon as the anchor was in place, typically only with a snorkel and mask, Davis would dive in to ensure the anchor was not disturbing any habitats or wildlife. Sometimes, he would dive as deep as 75 feet.

Davis has many fond memories of his early days at FIU including conversations with Fourqurean. They may or may not have nerded out over epiphytes.

“He was excited about seagrass epiphytes — small plants that grow on other plants — and I found myself getting excited too,” Davis said.

Davis partnered with fellow graduate student Brian Machovina to document the health of seagrass communities across the Florida Keys. Fourqurean would often join for dives while blasting the B-52s “Love Shack” as they sailed from site to site. For the next four years, they dove 10 or more sites per day. Evenings were spent in the lab, processing samples late into the night.

The work was intensive, but forged bonds that have lasted longer than Love Shack’s run on Billboard’s Top 100.

 “When you ask what’s the most valuable thing,” Davis said, “it’s been the relationships.”

Speaking of relationships, when Davis first arrived in Miami, Fourqurean invited him to lunch with other graduate students. One of those was Jenny Cutler, who was studying seagrass ecology under Dan Childers. Today, Davis and Cutler are married, and she maintains her own successful career as a research specialist at the NOAA Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC.