Salome Buglass
Salome Buglass (salomebu@gmail.com)
is a PhD candidate, University of British
Columbia, Canada, and Research Scientist,
Charles Darwin Foundation, Puerto Ayora,
Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.
From an early age, I developed an affinity for
the ocean. As my family moved many times
across different countries—almost always to
coastal towns—amid this perpetual change,
the seas emerged as a grounding constant
in my life. However, the idea of becoming a marine scientist only struck me in my late
twenties. The lack of diverse role models probably did not help, nor did my academic strug-
gle, having changed schools seven times, navigated three languages, and dealt with dyslexia.
Nevertheless, these difficulties helped me develop valuable skills, such as knowing when to
seek help and building a supportive network.
Although I pursued BSc and MSc degrees in geography, all my research projects, theses,
and hobbies revolved around the marine biome. Naturally, I seized the opportunity to work
as a marine ecologist at the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galápagos Islands. After
working on several diverse projects, I joined the Deep-sea and Seamounts Research Project,
where I got a chance to cultivate my passion for studying unknown marine communities in
the ocean’s darker and deeper parts. It also allowed me to participate in oceanographic expe-
ditions using state-of-the-art submersibles and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), gaining
first-hand experience collecting data and samples from remote deep-sea ecosystems.
Although this career journey has led to incredible experiences, it has also brought sig-
nificant challenges, as I had to endure a fair amount of misogynoir. At many points, I was
tempted to opt out. I now recognize that this dilemma is common among women, particu-
larly women of color, and they often end up leaking out of the STEM pipeline. However, the
uncomfortable, unjust, and frustrating situations I faced fueled my drive to persevere and
to stand up for myself and others. One of the proudest moments in my career was secur-
ing a National Geographic grant that enabled me to lead my own study exploring shallow
seamount habitats using affordable ROVs. This ultimately led to the discovery of unknown
mesophotic kelp forests. I was deeply curious about how kelp forests could grow with so little
light, and I wanted to elucidate their ecology further. In 2020, I decided to pursue a PhD to
help me get to the bottom of this and break the glass ceiling hanging over me at the time.
Starting a PhD during the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement was quite a roller-
coaster ride. As an Afro-Caribbean Latina, the flood of information and new vernacular
profoundly impacted and empowered me. It also filled my mailbox with requests for sci-
ence talks and DEI media campaigns. At times, I felt flattered, but at others, I felt tokenized
and used, as I was often asked to provide my contributions for free while helping diversify
institutions’ media touchpoints. Although this visibility and the perceived need to “diversify
academia” has opened doors, it also fuels my impostor syndrome, often preventing me from
recognizing the merits of my own accomplishments. Nevertheless, I embrace the increase
in media and scientific interest, as I hope it will help me and others to pursue careers in the
field of marine sciences, challenge stereotypes, and inspire those not represented in current
traditional depictions of women of color.
Salome Buglass and Sylvia Earle inside
the DeepSee submersible descending
to the newly discovered mesophotic
kelp forest at 70 m depth in the
Galápagos to collect samples. Photo
credit: ROLEX/Franck Gazzola