FIU is a young institution founded in 1972, yet it is: ​

  • The 4th largest university in the USA with an on-campus enrollment of > 58,000 students.​

  • Ranked as a R1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education​

Based on United Nations Criteria, FIU is:​

  • Overall, among the top 50 universities worldwide​

  • Ranked as the #3 public U.S. university and #11 in the world in research on life below water and education on and support for aquatic ecosystems​

FIU Proudly Embraces:

  • More than 25 full-time marine science faculty​

  • 30 research vessels, Aquarius undersea habitat, Coastal Conservation & Restoration Marine Laboratory​

Our research in our laboratory is broad, encompassing the ecology, conservation, and restoration of coastal Caribbean marine populations and communities with an emphasis  on the roles of decapod crustaceans and sponges in hard-bottom and coral reef communities.  Much of our field research takes place in the Florida Keys and Florida Bay, just south of the FIU campus in Miami.

Our laboratory studies take place in the newly renovated Coastal Conservation and Restoration Laboratory (CCRL), a large one acre indoor/outdoor facility on the beautiful FIU Biscayne Bay Campus.​