I'm Diana Varela, I'm a biological oceanographer
at the University of Victoria.
And I study the ecology and physiology of
marine phytoplankton.
Marine phytoplankton are microscopic single-cell
organisms that live in the top of the oceans,
about 100 metres of the ocean surface.
Marine phytoplankton are important because
they are the foundation of marine ecosystems,
ultimately to fisheries.
The more phytoplankton in the water, the more
fish there are.
They also produce oxygen.
And in fact, half of the oxygen we breathe
comes from phytoplankton.
Our work involves laboratory experimentation
and also field work.
We work with collaborators from the Department
of Fisheries and Oceans and the Coast Guard
who runs the icebreakers and other ships in
which we do our research.
From the North Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean
to the North Pacific.
Our Arctic work in which we try to understand
how climatic change in the oceans are affecting
marine ecosystems and in our case, particularly
how it's affected growth of phytoplankton.
I teach a biological oceanography class and
we take the students out to sea and they do
exactly the same type of research that is
being done by grad students and experienced
researchers.
I get great satisfaction from mentoring students
at the undergraduate and at the graduate level
and I also feel very proud when my own graduate
students are able to mentor other undergraduates
that work in our lab.
I always love to understand the unknown.
And understanding how the oceans work and
how they're affected by climatic change is
a very important aspect that I love to research.
