Rosita Calderón Barrera
Researcher
Rosita Calderón Barrera graduated from the University of Guayaquil with a degree in Biology. In the year 2000 she began her first incursions into the world of conservation at the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF). By 2010 she had joined the CDF as a local volunteer in the Department of Biodiversity, where she began to specialise in species distribution analysis and the preservation of unique Galapagos marine invertebrate specimens. This experience motivated her to write her thesis on the identification of zooplanktonic crustaceans. In 2013 she became part of the staff of the CDF’s Department of Biodiversity as an Assistant Curator in the Marine Collections (MCCCDRS).
From January 2017 to the present-day she has been a staff member in the Marine Invasive Species project. She began her work there as a lab assistant focused on taxonomic identification and morphology of marine invasive species, allowing her to work towards her aim of becoming a scientific researcher. She currently has the role of Junior Researcher on the project. In 2022 she obtained a master’s degree in Biological Diversity and the Environment from the University of Malaga, Spain.
As a Galapagueña, working on science, marine research and conservation motivates and inspires her.
Rosita's programs
Ocean
Marine biodiversity researchThe introduction of alien species is arguably the most important driver of biodiversity loss for oceanic islands. Our work seeks to evaluate the effects of alien invasive species, climate change, and other anthropogenic pressures on the biodiversity of the Galapagos Marine Reserve and the Eastern Tropical Pacific in order to better sustain coastal communities and prevent marine species extinction.