José Garcia

Nationality: Venezuelan
Specialty: Benthic invertebrates

José has been working with Prof. Guido Pereira on freshwater shrimp in temporary ponds for the last two years. He grew up in a small town outside of Caracas, and by high school, he knew that he wanted to be a scientist.

"You look at the water and it appears calm, but below its teeming with activity – there are shrimps, crabs, and fish."

What do you think of the AquaRAP experience?

"The idea of participating in the AquaRAP is to know what is in the Caura. If we find a new species, that would be great, but what is really important for management and development plans is to know what is here. This area has high potential for hydroelectric power and mining. If we don't know what is here we cannot help put together a conservation plan."

— Reported by Jensen Montambault

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