Jesús Arias is a biologist. His research interests include four primary areas related to coral reef ecology: landscape ecology; ecosystem diversity and function; resilience and connectivity of fish and corals on Caribbean coral reefs. He is a founding member of the Consejo Científico y Técnico de los Arrecifes Coralinos and its first president. He is also a founding member of the Sociedad Mexicana de Arrecifes Coralinos. He has also participated in various national and international macro projects among which the GEF-Coral Reef Targeted Research on connectivity and modeling for management and decision-making regarding coral reefs, the Mexican Ecosystem Network-CONACyT stand out and GASPAR-CESAB-FRB. He is a Mexican Senior Research Fellow-CONACyT (SNI III) and active member of the Mexican Academy of Science, and International, French and Mexican Coral Reef Societies. He was recognized by the Research Conservation Nature 2017 price by the Comisión Nacional de Areas Protegidas of Mexico.