NAIROBI, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Grace Kioko is currently grappling with immense pressure and expectations, given that she is one of the only two spider scientists in Kenya.
The 28-year-old scientist is a pioneer in a field that has been traditionally dominated by men and society has placed unrealistic expectations on her.
"There is a lot of pressure because everyone comes to me on issues related to spiders in Kenya. I also like the challenge because it helps me to expound on creatures that have not been exploited as much," Kioko told Xinhua in an interview recently.
Kioko developed an interest in spiders while working as an intern at the National Museums of Kenya before she got the opportunity to study in China.
"I was doing volunteer work at the museum and then I found out that no one was dealing with spiders and so I wanted to fill the gap," said Kioko.
She was awarded a scholarship to study for a master's degree in spider diversity at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and currently works as a spider taxonomist at the National Museums of Kenya.
She said that studying in China was very interesting because she had an opportunity to interact with people from all over the world.
"The Chinese also have very specialized laboratories that help in the studying, identification and classification of spiders," said Kioko.
According to the scientist, studying spiders in Kenya is very difficult as samples typically have to be sent abroad for analysis as the equipment is either expensive to access or is lacking altogether.
Kioko is currently identifying and classifying the spider species in Kenya in order to find applications for the insects.
Some countries have already been able to commercially exploit their spider species and her hope is to help Kenya do the same, said Kioko.
"However, the key challenge remains lack of enough spider scientists locally," she said, adding that she is seeking to inspire more Kenyan youth to become spider experts in order to tap the potential of the insects.
"I am looking for collaborators so that we can help to enhance our local knowledge of our spider species," Kioko.
According to Kioko, in Kenya, some 790 species have been classified.
"This means that we have a lot of work to do in Kenya in order to catch up with the rest of the world," said Kioko.
She said that the bulk of Kenya's spider collection is stored outside the country making research of the insect locally to be difficult.
The National Museum of Kenya is currently updating its collection of spider species in order to document the country's rich biodiversity.
The long-term goal is to put the country's spider inventory on a digital platform so that they are easily accessible from any part of the world.
