Dr. Ari Fustukjian: The Florida Aquarium’s Wet Vet
The Florida Aquarium – an inspiring and signature tourist destination in Tampa - highlights Florida native species and other aquatic animals from around the world. My guest today, Dr. Ari Fustukjian, oversees the health and welfare of this very diverse collection of organisms. Join us, as Dr. Ari shares his career path and discusses his role there as well as other amazing goings-on at the Florida Aquarium.
BIO:
Originally from Florida, Ari Fustukjian completed his education in the state of New York, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from SUNY Albany in 2010, and then obtaining his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from Cornell University in 2014. Developing his love of aquatics over years as a home fishkeeper, he quickly identified his niche and went to Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut as the 2015 veterinary intern in aquatic medicine and research, working with a large collection of marine mammals, herptiles, and fish.
In 2016 he was hired as the Associate Veterinarian at the Florida Aquarium. In his role as veterinarian, Dr. Fustukjian oversees the health and welfare of a diverse collection, including birds, reptiles, fish and elasmobranchs, and marine invertebrates, as well as managing the Aquarium’s sea turtle rescue program. While he still manages the occasional air-breather, Dr. Fustukjian’s true passion is for fish and invertebrates – “the weirder, the better”, and he is an active participant in the care of animals at the Aquarium’s Center for Conservation, which includes sea turtles as well as endangered corals and other marine invertebrates.