Cutting-edge research and clarity earn Clay prestigious Elton Prize

Dr. Natalie Clay, assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences at Louisiana Tech, has won the prestigious 2017 Elton Prize, awarded annually by the British Ecological Society for the best paper in the Journal of Animal Ecology written by an early career author at the start of their research career.

Her paper, “Towards a geography of omnivory: Omnivores increase carnivory when sodium is limiting,” was written in collaboration with Richard J. Lehrter and Michael Kaspari.
“This award is a humongous honor and I am humbled to be recognized by the British Ecological Society, and for an award named after Charles Elton,” said Clay, who earned her Ph.D. from the University of Oklahoma in 2013 and her undergraduate degree from Colby College (Waterville, Maine) in 2008. “Charles Elton was a pioneering ecologist who recognized how what organisms ate impacted everything from their behavior to how food webs are structured.” Read more.