I’m Roberta Cardenas!
I’m an undergraduate student based in Hawai’i studying marine biology. I’m Hispanic Texan, born in Texas and raised in both Mexico and Texas.
Currently, I am working on my senior thesis researching the biodiversity of crab megalops larvae from West Hawai’i using DNA barcoding. These larvae are part of a crab’s life cycle and play an important role in the settlement of juvenile crabs. Currently, there is no knowledge of what species of megalops are found in Hawai’i, so my goal is to use DNA barcoding to see how the diversity varies across different regions of the coast. In the future, I hope to apply these skills to research on plankton ecology in polar regions.
I love to scuba dive and have been diving for many years. I’ve done most of my diving in the Yucatan Peninsula. It’s a very special place for me because it is where I discovered my love for the ocean. As I progress with my career in marine biology, it has allowed me to communicate to my friends and relatives back in Mexico about climate change and the importance of conservation.
The first time I made a personal connection with polar research was when I was writing a research paper on melting glaciers. Previously, I was not familiar with polar regions as it was a topic I was never exposed to in depth. After reading through many papers, I discovered how climate change is affecting polar regions in ways that are not often talked about. I became particularly interested in polar plankton and how populations respond to climate variability.
Growing up in Mexico, polar science and careers in science were not something I was exposed to. It has been hard trying to navigate academia as going into careers in research is uncommon in my family. I’m very thankful for accounts in social media such as Polar Impact and Polar Women that have allowed me to show my family all sorts of ongoing polar research. After seeing how many people go into this field, it has definitely put them at ease and they’re now very excited to see what I do in the future!
After graduation, I hope to gain experience working in polar regions. My goal is to attend graduate school and go into a career in polar biological oceanography. As climate change continues to progress, I’m very interested in seeing how environmental changes in polar regions will affect biological processes and the distribution of plankton.
My parents are my biggest inspiration as they are one of the most hardworking people I know. My mom is the only reason I discovered marine science, and I really owe my entire career them. My advice would be to explore as many topics as you can, even if you think you might not be particularly interested in them. Like many aspiring marine biologists, I went into my undergraduate degree wanting to work with marine mammals and sharks. However, after taking an invertebrate zoology class and exploring polar research, I realized that invertebrate zooplankton was something that I was very excited about!
Follow Roberta on Twitter and Instagram @r_cardenas01