Marlene Wall

Dr. Marlene Wall is a Research Group Leader at GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, focusing on coral adaptation to environmental stress. She holds a PhD in Marine Biology from the University of Bremen and an MSc in Ecology from the University of Vienna.

Her research investigates how natural environmental variability—such as large-amplitude internal waves and CO2 gradients—provides refuges during extreme events like marine heatwaves. She studies tropical and cold-water corals in Thailand, Chile, and Papua New Guinea, combining microsensor technology, geochemical analysis, and in situ experiments to decode physiological adaptations and ecological resilience.

Recent publications highlight her work on coral calcification, thermal stress trade-offs, and lipid biomarker analysis in cold-water corals. She has received the FWF-Schrödinger Post-doctoral fellowship and collaborates with institutions like AWI, Australian Institute of Marine Science, and Fundación San Ignacio del Huinay.

Her team includes Master's and PhD students analyzing topics such as Pocillopora acuta heat tolerance, coral microbiome shifts, and aquaculture impacts on cold-water corals. Outreach efforts include public lectures at GEOMAR Open Days and media interviews with NDR and Bayrischer Rundfunk.