Fernando participated in all the movement ecology projects within the coral reef ecology lab that use acoustic tagging. He helped tag whale sharks in 2011, but most of his time at KAUST was dedicated to studying the movement ecology of adult reef fishes and the technology behind acoustic telemetry. For his Master’s thesis, under the leadership of Dr. Lizzie Tyler, he studied the factors influencing the detectability of acoustic tags by receivers. Fernando joined the lab from fall 2010 to spring 2012 after completing his BSc in mechatronics from The National University of Colombia and The Technical University of Munich. He hopes to continue learning about coral reef ecology, pursue a PhD, and steer his career towards working in the conservation of marine life and helping the communities that rely on its existence.​