Nicolas Rivas

Joined CREST CAChE in Fall 2021

Nicolas is studying fish population dynamics in response to coral reef restoration efforts in Culebra, Puerto Rico. We are interested in testing the efficacy of 3D printed corals to restore fish populations as compared to live coral. Weare using BRUVS and photogrammetry techniques to track fish populations, coral distribution and recruitment. Nicolas was born in Santiago, Chile and moved to Florida when he was 5 years old. He and his family went to the beach almost every weekend which sparked his interest in marine life. Nicolas attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando to pursue a degree in Biology with a focus in pre-med. Halfway through Nicolas joined a lab to gain research experience and decided to switch his focus from pre-med to marine biology. Since then, Nicolas earned a BS in Biology from the University of Central Florida and an MS in Marine Biology and Ecology from the University of Miami. Heis now pursuing a PhD at FIU where he will be researching fish population dynamics in relation to coral restoration.