Stacy Anushka Ballyram

Affiliation:

Huinay Scientific Field Station, Pontifica Católica del Valparaíso
2 Jun 2019 to 29 Jun 2019

Short cv:

Based at the Huinay Scientific Field Station in Chile, I am employed as a GIS analyst and research assistant. My areas of interest and expertise are Geographic Information Systems, databases, benthic ecology, and bioinformatics. I’ve studied and worked within the Caribbean and the Latin American region, performing benthic taxonomic identifications and analysis on invertebrate communities. Currently I am based in Chilean Patagonia, where my research, under the supervision of Principle Investigator Verena Häussermann, focuses on species distribution modelling, biogeographic and species community analysis for the marine spatial planning and zonation of marine parks. Apart from data analysis, I manage networking and computer administration tasks, maintain an object-relational database, and perform diving tasks, which includes the deployment and retrieval of underwater equipment, staging underwater experiments, biotic sampling and maintenance of diving equipment and compressors. 

I am an avid scuba diver, passionate about marine life, underwater photography and science communication. My time is shared with volunteer and outreach activities that includes environmental education for children and young adults. My strong belief is that if science is not effectively communicated with the general public, accurate scientific work and knowledge will be lost.  My interest also stems into shifting climatic and oceanographic baselines that affect marine benthic communities, using oceanographic data as proxies to model and predict community shifts.