Marine Biologist & Storyteller

Bethany Augliere is a marine biologist turned science writer and photojournalist based in South Florida. In 2009, she began work as a graduate student and field assistant with the Wild Dolphin Project, led by marine mammal biologist Dr. Denise Herzing. She spent her summers living at sea in the Bahamas to study a resident community of Atlantic spotted dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. Part of her job was snorkeling alongside the animals and photographing them for photo-identification purposes. She also filmed to record behavior and communication. As she began to understand the dolphins as individuals, she wanted to share their stories with the world to help people connect with nature more intimately. After earning a second graduate degree in science communication from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 2016, she began a full-time freelance photography career in South Florida focusing on the marine environment.

Bethany’s work has been published with National Geographic, National Geographic Kids, Nature, Science, Hakai Magazine, Oceana, The Mercury News, Portfolio Vero Beach Magazine, the Wild Dolphin Project, Marine Megafauna Foundation, and FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, among others. Bethany is a research associate with the Wild Dolphin Project, and a contributing photographer to Everyday Extinction, and a member of the Ocean Artists Society. She has curated and shown an exhibit at the Manatee Lagoon Eco-Discovery center in Riviera Beach, Fla., and has given many presentations at schools, nature centers, and local businesses, such as dive shops, as well as virtual presentations for Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants. She presented at the 2018 NANPA Nature Celebration in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.