Welcome to the second episode of The Ocean Embassy.

Today I am interviewing someone super cool. Melissa Cristina Marquez is a wildlife scientist, science communicator, author, TV presenter and a lot more. We talk about her research on ocean predators' habitat development, the way in which she relies on marine technology in this work and why science communication and social media is vital for her future work. We also address the systemic issues Melissa has faced throughout her career such as sexism.

Melissa has a Puerto Rican-Mexican background and holds a Bachelor degree in Marine Ecology and Conservation from the New College of Florida. Her Masters degree took her to the other side of the globe: she studied Marine Biology at the Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, and then moved to Perth, Australia to start her PhD research at Curtin University. Her research focuses on understanding what oceanographic processes influence the composition, distribution, and habitat use of Chondrichthyans in the Western Indian Ocean as well as local people’s perceptions about sharks. She is a member of the board for Women in Ocean Science, coordinates the Mentorship program at Minorities in Shark Sciences, regularly writes for Forbes and advises organizations on their science strategies. I wanted to interview Melissa because she is a pro at communicating science and research about the wildlife in our oceans that gets very little talked about in public. It amazes me how important also research such as hers is in order to place small details of one animal’s habitat into broader context of climate change.

Cover art: Simon + Anna Madlener. Based on the Spilhaus world projection.

Music and Sound Effects: Lukas Bindel

Mixing: Anna Madlener

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