Researcher biography
David, originally from Bogotá, Colombia, is a PhD student at UQ. His PhD is part of a Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) project lead by his supervisor, Dr Amelia Wenger, aiming to develop a platform that allows to identify and map water pollution (sediment and nutrients) in areas of coral reefs around the world. David also works as a research officer in the Marine Ecosystems Monitoring Lab, under the supervision of Associate Professor Chris Roelfsema, mapping coral reef and seagrass meadows using satellite imagery.
Before coming to UQ, David took part in various internships. This included updating and upgrading the Optical Reef and Coastal area Assessment (ORCAA) tool under NASA's DEVELOP program, mapping coralligenous habitats in Greece, and mapping coral reef habitats and assisting in other field work in Curaçao and in the GBR and Moreton Bay in Australia. David holds a MSc in Environmental Management from the University of San Francisco (USA), and an International MSc in Marine Biological Resources from Ghent University (Belgium).