Andia Chaves Fonnegra

Fonnegra earned her bachelor's degree (2003) in marine biology from the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University and her master's degree (2006) in marine biology from the National University of Colombia.

[1] In 2007 she taught at Colombia's Universidad Pedagogic Nacional before moving to the University of Alberta where she was a graduate student from 2007 to 2008.

In 2009, she transferred to Nova Southeastern University, in Florida, where she graduated in 2014 with a PhD in oceanography and marine biology.

In 2018, she became an assistant professor at Florida Atlantic University, where she has a joint appointment between the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and the Harriet Wilkes Honors College.

[5] In the Caribbean Sea the development of this sponge has accelerated in recent years, resulting in the gradual erosion of corals, altering the ecosystem.