CURRENT LAB MEMBERS
Luis Kuchenmüller (PhD, commenced 2022)
Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
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I was born in Freiburg, Southern Germany. As my family was generally very close to nature, I am passionate about nature conservation and climate change research. At an early age, visiting the Aegean Sea and the Galapagos Islands sparked my wish to become a marine biologist.
In 2015, I headed north to study biology at the University of Hamburg, and in 2019, I commenced a marine biology MSc program at the University of Bremen. For my final research thesis, I joined the integrative ecophysiology team at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. I worked with a key species of one of the most rapidly changing environments on earth: Polar cod. For this project, I implanted heart rate bio-loggers and ran critical swim speed tests at 0 to 8°C with parallel respirometry. Further, I trained a machine-learning program to track swimming movements which allowed for tailbeat frequency analysis.
In 2022, I moved to Australia and joined Timothy Clark’s ecophysiology research group at Deakin University. As a PhD student, I am studying the allometry of cardiorespiratory variables and their temperature dependence in salmonids, specifically Chinook salmon and rainbow trout. To investigate the impact of hyperoxia across the mass range, I have built size-specific respirometry setups. During my time in the Clark Lab, I am also looking forward to learning how to instrument fish with blood flow cuffs and vascular catheters.
Many questions remain about body size effects on temperature susceptibility in fishes. I strongly hope to contribute to filling those knowledge gaps as a member of the Clark Lab.