Minorities in the Aquatic Sciences

I was born in Quito Ecuador, I studied biological sciences at Catholic University in Quito Ecuador. Then I moved to the Galapagos Islands in 1995 to do my undergraduate research centered on ecological and evolutive aspects of brood size, mate retention and population dynamics. In 1997, I enrolled at the Charles Darwin Research Station, first as a volunteer and then as a permanent staff of the Marine Research and Conservation Unit. I conducted a long-term experimental manipulation to understand the effect of grazers on intertidal communities in a project developed jointly with Dr. George Branch and Dr. Rodrigo Bustamante. I also participated in the evaluation of the population status of several important resources including sea cucumber, lobsters and fish. Latter I participated in the design and implementation of the zoning scheme, providing advise to the Participatory Management Board and participating actively in the negotiation process with stakeholders that culminated successfully in the closure of 18% of the Marine Reserve to extractive activities and the total elimination of industrial fishery from the Marine Reserve. From 2000 to 2001, I did my M.Sc. in Marine Environmental Protection at the University of Wales in Bangor under the supervision of Dr. Raymond Seed. Later I moved back to the Galapagos Islands and coordinated the evaluation of rocky subtidal communities as part of the ecological monitoring program of the Charles Darwin Foundation. Our goal was to assess the effects of the zoning scheme on the ecosystem function, unfortunately, the initial zoning scheme has not been fully implemented yet but the information collected was important to understand the natural variability of the rocky subtidal ecosystems of the Archipelago. At present, I am a Fulbright Fellow; I am doing my PhD at Oregon State University under the supervision of Dr. Bruce Menge and Dr. Jane Lubchenco. My interest centers on understanding how marine ecosystems respond to the effects of consumer pressure, thermal stress and productivity. After the completion of my studies at OSU, I plan to go back to Ecuador to do ecological research that will be applied to the management and conservation of the Galapagos Islands and to the future design and monitoring of protected areas in Ecuador and the region. I will like to teach at a University in Ecuador to contribute to the future formation of young scientist in marine ecology and conservation and to work actively in a global agenda for the protection of our oceans.