Charles P. Postelle, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Biology, UNC-CH
Kenneth Lohmann’s lab group is interested in the behavior, sensory biology, neuroethology, and conservation of marine animals. Topics of particular interest include:
- The navigation of long-distance ocean migrants such as sea turtles, salmon, spiny lobsters, and elephant seals
- Magnetic field perception, magnetic maps, and use of the Earth’s magnetic field in animal navigation
- Natal homing and the geomagnetic imprinting hypothesis in sea turtles and salmon
- Applications of sensory ecology and movement ecology to conservation biology
- Neurobiology, behavior, and physiology of marine invertebrates
- Marine ecosystems and animal health in the Galapagos Islands.
Techniques used range from electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and electrophysiology to behavioral studies, oceanographic modeling, and field studies in the ocean. Whenever possible, he favors innovative approaches that cut across traditional academic boundaries and combine elements from disparate fields.
Visit his lab website here.
Publications
- Beaches in the Galápagos Lohmann, K. J. and C. M. F. Lohmann. 2019. There and back again: Natal homing by magnetic navigation in sea turtles and salmon. Journal of Experimental Biology 222, jeb184077. doi:10.1242/jeb.184077
- Beaches in the Galápagos Gray, P. C., Fleishman, A. B., Klein, D. J., McKown, M. W., Bezy, V. S., Lohmann, K. J., and D. W. Johnston. 2019. A convolutional neural network for detecting sea turtles in drone imagery. Methods in Ecology and Evolution doi: 10.1111/2041-210X.13132
- Brothers, J. R. and K. J. Lohmann. 2018. Evidence that magnetic navigation and geomagnetic imprinting shape spatial genetic variation in sea turtles. Current Biology.