Joshua M Benjamin Society for Freshwater Science 2025 Annual Meeting

Joshua M Benjamin

Joshua is the Founder and Managing Director of the Freshwater Guardians Organization (FGO) https://freshwaterguardians.org/. He is also a PhD candidate and Teaching Assistant in the Department of Biology at the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA. His doctoral research focuses on “Longitudinal Changes in Fish Assemblages, Macroinvertebrate Communities, and Trace Element Distributions within the Mara River.” In addition to his PhD, Joshua is pursuing certificates in Tropical Conservation and Development (TCD) and Sustainable Development Practice (SDP) at the University of Florida. Joshua completed a Joint MSc in Environmental Science with a specialization in Limnology and Wetlands Management at BOKU University in Austria and IHE-Delft in the Netherlands. During his master’s program, he researched benthic macroinvertebrates' longitudinal abundance, distribution, and functional feeding groups in the Gura River, Kenya. He also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies from Karatina University, Kenya. Furthermore, Joshua has received GIS and Remote Sensing training from IHE-Delft and advanced data analysis techniques from the University of Groningen. Joshua’s academic and professional achievements have been recognized through several prestigious awards, including grants from WWF-EFN, the National Geographic Society's Rufford Foundation, the Explorers Club, and Sigma Xi. He has also been honored with a Certificate of Outstanding Merit from the International Center at the University of Florida.