FAIRHOPE, Ala. — When Capt. David Yeager stepped down as director of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) in July, it was a given that finding his replacement would require casting a rather large net. Yeager, who previously retired after a 30-year career with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Corps, had been at the helm of the local organization since early 2000.

Enter Dr. Toby Bolton, 40, an Adelaide, Australia native, who found out about the position through an Internet job search.

The marine biologist is not unfamiliar with the coastal United States, however. He conducted doctoral level research at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) under mentor Dr. Florence Thomas some 10 years ago.

“We were looking at the composite structure around sea urchins,” Bolton said. The research is still under way in Michigan, he added.

Bolton again found his way to DISL, when his postdoctoral work involved the ecological study of invasive species, including the Australian spotted jellyfish (Phyllorhiza punctata), which invaded the Gulf Coast around nine years ago.

He said, “They come in boom-bust cycles, and there was a lot of concern it might be permanent, but it wasn’t.”

Prior to accepting the job here, Bolton lectured in marine biology at Flinders University, and managed the Lincoln Marine Science Centre. During his tenure, in one of the largest fishing and aquaculture centers in the southern hemisphere, he gained considerable experience working with a diverse range of stakeholders, including conservation organizations, industry and community groups.

His educational background includes a bachelor of applied science degree in natural resource management from the University of Adelaide, where he majored in remote sensing and land assessment and studied the economic and sociological aspects of natural resource management.

His graduate and doctoral studies at Flinders focused on the functional performance and evolution of larval forms of marine invertebrates.

Bolton acknowledged moving such a great distance was tough, while pointing out the adjustment to life here hasn’t been so bad.

“It’s a bit of an upheaval, living out of the bags for a while,” he said. “But it’s not like there’s much difference between cultures. I’m still trying to get my head around a different government system — a different funding system.”

He said MBNEP is similar to a program in Australia, and he looks forward to guiding the efforts to greater heights.

Although he is still getting his feet wet, Bolton said his plans include modeling how Mobile Bay might change over the next 100-200 years. He hopes to complete the project within two years.

The seminar Bolton conducted while competing for the position related to the geological history of Mobile Bay. He said it has been relative stable for thousands of years, although there have been some “sharp tipping points.”

Around 8,000 years ago, the bay was nothing more than a delta and uplands, Bolton said, before a natural rise in sea level and the introduction of greater salinity levels created the ecosystem we know today.

“It’s incredibly diverse. It’s really an amazing system,” he said. “The biological diversity is absolutely wonderful.”

He cautioned, “the area’s growing industrial base must be managed because it affects everyone’s quality of life.”

Two of Bolton’s former students may visit this summer to help examine the area’s ecosystem. One, he said, is currently studying tuna reproduction and aquaculture. The other is learning about the reproduction of prawns (the close cousins of shrimp) and the reproduction of the world’s smallest sea star — a creature about four millimeters in diameter.

Bolton arrived here with his partner, Meg Goecker, and their two “children,” Sid and Scout. Both dogs are shelter rescues.

While a student at Michigan State University in 2000, Goecker conducted summer research at DISL. Her project was entitled “Seagrass Herbivory: The Effects of Predation Risk and Nutritional Content in the Upper Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.”

When not involved in marine science endeavors, Bolton enjoys aviation. He said he recently purchased an airplane in California and brought it back to his new home on the Alabama coast.

And, as one might imagine, Bolton said he also loves the outdoors.

MBNEP’s mission is to lead the wise stewardship of water quality and living resources of Mobile Bay and the Mobile-Tensaw Delta.

Established at the request of then-Alabama Gov. Fob James in 1995 under the Clean Water Act, and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, MBNEP serves as a catalyst for activities of estuary stakeholders (including governments, agencies, conservation and environmental interests, business and industry, and the academic community).

It also helps to build community based organizational capacity for sound resource management, as well as leveraging commitment and investment to ensure the estuary’s sustainability.

MBNEP is one of 28 such national programs.