Hello!

My name is Jillian Daly, known to many as Marine Invert Girl. Growing up, I spent my days hanging off of floating docks on the North Carolina coast, paddling to sandbars, examining the strange creatures I came across, and creating tiny aquariums to show off my curious finds to the neighbors.

Check out my social media to see what I’m passionate about:

Instagram & TikTok

How did I become a marine science communicator?

When I was 8, a friend had come over to find me peeling back a sea squirt to discover a few tiny brittle stars and squeal in excitement. As we trudged up the old wooden stairs to show off the critters to my mom, my friend turned to me and told me I should be a marine biologist when I grew up. This was the first time I’d heard of this as a career option. You mean I could spend my whole life by the saltwater looking for intriguing and alien-like creatures? I was sold.

Fast-forward to my last semester at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I was about to graduate with a degree in environmental and marine sciences. My best friend and I were driving out to the coast for a field trip with our Coastal Carolina Writing class. While talking about life after college, my friend mentioned her next steps in pursuing a master’s degree in science communication. A familiar feeling washed through me. “Science communication is a viable field?,” I asked my friend. The answer was yes. All of a sudden, my confusion between following the environmental education path where I can speak to the public about marine science and our coast v. furthering my studies to be a research scientist and contribute to the marine science research I loved, dissolved. Science communication combines the two things I love best: getting people excited about marine life and the cool research happening on our coast, and reading and learning from research papers and scientists about new discoveries in the marine science field.

Serendipitously, a few weeks later, I opened the listserv from the North Carolina Office of Environmental Education to find a job listing for a communications specialist at the N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve. I remember reading the description and thinking yes, that’s me! By December 2022, I had a job offer, and after sailing with a friend in the Caribbean for a month post-graduation, I moved to Beaufort, N.C. to begin working.

What about @MarineInvertGirl?

Marine Invert Girl has been in the works for a long time. I’ve always loved taking photos and short videos of the cool creatures I find when I’m out on the water. Most of my free time is spent kayaking to sandbars and mudflats at low tides, and my vacations are spent flying to coastal states with tide pools to explore. So, I’ve racked up over 10 thousand videos and photos of marine invertebrates, and by March 2025, I finally decided it was time to start putting this content out there. My initial goal was to show locals what they may have been missing when they go to the beach or out on the boat. I’ve met many folks who have lived here their whole lives, and never knew that the tubes they were walking over were worms, or that the small irregularities in the sand are actually moon snails or baby horseshoe crabs hidden under the sand! Reading people’s comments on my videos and hearing their surprised reactions has motivated me to keep putting more educational content out, and now I’m working on creating more content to tie research to the organisms I’m posting about.

What can I do for you?

I’d love to partner with brands and organizations that promote healthy ocean practices, engage in scientific research, or folks who are curious about our coast! I’m happy to help with animal identifications, speak to school groups or adults about marine animals, and create custom videos.