Job: Associate veterinarian, Georgia Aquarium, Atlanta
What I do: Who says you can't take a fish out of water? Tonya Clauss and the veterinary staff at the Georgia Aquarium do it all the time to examine and treat the animals.
It's not like the fish are completely out of water. Usually, they are placed in separate tanks, where machines move water over their gills so they can get oxygen. If necessary, they are pulled out of the water and placed on a special table, while still hooked up to a breathing apparatus. They are kept moist during procedures with a decidedly low-tech method: sponging.
It's all in a day's work for Clauss, 33. "I have my hands on every species of animal we have here -- mammals, birds, reptiles, fish," she said. She gives them examinations; periodic care, such as vaccinations; checkups for parasites; and treatment for illnesses or injuries. Clauss even can perform surgery, if required.
Because of the Georgia Aquarium's size and variety of animals, the veterinary staff has pioneered several treatments. "We've done procedures here that people haven't done before," Clauss said.
For example, they were the first to place a feeding tube in a wobbegong shark, a Pacific tropical species, so it could receive water and nutrition without being handled by the staff. Clauss called on her experience with dogs and cats and tried the procedure on the shark. It worked. She sometimes draws from human medicine, such as using a common topical treatment to help heal sharks' and rays' wounds.
In addition, she advises the aquarium staff on animal management, and she has a separate research project on loggerhead sea turtles.
What got me interested in this: Clauss said that, as a child, she wanted to be a large-animal veterinarian. Growing up in Florida, she was exposed to aquatic environments and worked with conservation projects.
After studying computers in college, she realized that she "wasn't going to be happy sitting in an office." During work on a master's degree in environmental engineering and wetlands ecology, she decided that veterinary work with aquatic animals was a way to combine her old and new passions.
She admits to having "way too many animals at home," including two horses, four dogs, two cats, two ferrets, a tortoise and a parrot. "I definitely do not live in a loft."
Clauss
Best part of my job: "Being able to be creative and innovative, because this field is relatively new," Clauss said. "All the answers aren't known."
Most challenging part: Because she's temporarily the only veterinarian on staff, Clauss said it's a challenge "keeping all the cases straight and making sure there's enough of me to go around."
What people don't know about my job: Unlike a doctor for humans, who deals with only one type of animal, a vet at the world's largest aquarium must treat "so many species, so many animals." She has to understand the different systems in animals as diverse as turtles, whale sharks and otters. Some have additional organs, such as flotation glands in fish, but stomachs are stomachs and bones are bones in most vertebrates, she said.
What keeps me going: "The drive and desire to give these animals the best care that I can and learn what I can," Clauss said.
Preparation needed for this job: It takes about seven or eight years of college to become a veterinarian. "It's very beneficial to have a graduate degree and research skills" as well, Clauss said.
She spent 12 years at the University of Florida and earned four degrees, including a doctorate in veterinary medicine. One reason she came to the Georgia Aquarium was its enthusiasm about her loggerhead research.
Besides the academic preparation, Clauss said, "you definitely have to be able to interact with all different types of people . . . and feel comfortable in impromptu speaking to the public."
On the job, "you can't be afraid to get wet. I get a fair share of splashings."
- By Karl Ritzler, for ajcjobs. Got an interesting job that you love? E-mail your story to jobseditor@ajc.com.