Marine Biologist
Rosita Calderón Barrera was born in Galapagos and at the age of 18 left the islands to pursue her university studies. She graduated in Biology from the University of Guayaquil. Her first forays into the field of conservation took place at the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) in her penultimate year of high school (2000). She provided field assistance to a student who was doing his undergraduate thesis. The collection of data about the location of introduced plants in Santa Cruz was a unique experience in order to know the problems that were affecting the agricultural sector of the island. In 2010 she returned to the CDF as a local volunteer for the Department of Biodiversity. There, for 1 year and 10 months she was able to work in the institutional laboratory for the analysis of marine invertebrate samples and the preservation of organisms with unique records for Galapagos. This experience motivated her to do her thesis on the identification of zooplanktonic crustaceans, which includes the western part of the Galapagos (Isabela and Fernandina). In 2013 she became part of the staff of the Department of Biodiversity as Curator Assistant in the Marine Collection (MCCDRS) of the CDF.
At the end of 2013, after a course she was accredited as inspector in inspection and quarantine at the Agency for Regulation and Control of Biosecurity and Quarantine for Galapagos (ABG), since then she was part of the Institution's Regulation and Prevention team as a quarantine Inspector. In 2014 the institution decided to open the marine inspection area where she was also part. There she carried out the inspection of the hulls of vessels that enter the Galapagos Marine Reserve ensuring that no organisms come attached. This is due to the active connectivity with continental Ecuador and the introduction risks that can affect the islands. This led her to be part of that great team. In June 2015, she was promoted to Responsible of Ports and Airports of the same institution, on this occasion she participated in the modifications and improvements of the manual of maritime and aerial procedures for ship inspection, a role she played until December 2016.
From January 2017 to the present, she is part of the staff of the CDF in the Marine Invasive Species Programme, as laboratory assistant where her approach to conservation was directed to scientific research. Science, marine research and conservation is a commitment that excites her for being a galapagueña, so she hopes to continue collaborating with the CDF.
Scientific Publications:
Banks, S., D. Acuña, R. Calderón, J. Delgado, G. Edgar, L. Garske-García, I. Keith, A. Kuhn, R. Pépolas, D. Ruiz, J. Suárez, N. Tirado-Sánchez, M. Vera, L. Vinueza y E. Wakefield. 2016. Manual de monitoreo submareal. Conservación Internacional Ecuador y Fundación Charles Darwin. Quito, Ecuador.
