Another german herping guy enters the battlefield
Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 9:12 am
Hi at all,
thank you for accepting my request for joining this forum!
My name is Tim Lüddecke, I am 26 years old and I am a biology student (master) with focus on biochemistry/bioinformatics and genetics in Braunschweig, Germany. Right now I´m participating in different projects in the zoological institute of my university under Miguel Vences and Sebastian Steinfartz. I am interested in mechanisms of chemical defense in reptiles and amphibians and evolutionary biology as well.
Since my childhood I am fascinated with snakes and most other critters. Like many of you (I guess) I catched frogs, lizards and newts on a daily basis and kept different herps in terrariums at home. While becoming older my agenda expands also to invertebrates: Mostly buthid scorpions, tarantulas and black widow spiders. At age of 16 I did an internship in the Schladen snake farm here in my home area. After finishing school I did a job training as a chemical laboratorian and was employed in an industrial R&D laboratory before starting my biology studies.
In spring 2016 I finished my bachelor degree about alkaloids as a part of the chemical defense in different salamander species under Miguel Vences and started the masters programm.
Right now I am working on different projects:
1) Unexplored components of the skin poisons in Salamandra spp.
2) Conservation and population genetics inside a declining population of Vipera berus in the lower saxony site of the Harz
3) Evolution of Tarantulas
Because I am mainly interested in venomous snakes I will start different herping trips across Europe in the next years, to find as many of our native vipers as possible for getting as many experience with them as possible. Hopefully I will meet some of you in the fields
Bests,
Tim