Dr. Digna Rueda-Roa is a Biological Oceanographer and Marine Biologist, and a Research Scientist at the College of Marine Science, University of South Florida. Her research focuses on understanding how coastal and ocean ecosystems respond to physical, chemical, and geological processes. She combines satellite remote sensing with field observations and statistical time-series analysis to characterize patterns and changes in marine and coastal environments. Her work examines processes such as coastal upwelling, ocean-atmosphere interactions, and long-term changes in mangroves and other coastal ecosystems. Her recent research includes tracking interannual ecosystem shifts through satellite-based habitat mapping and analyzing heat stress indices in coastal zones.