Luis Alejandro Gonzalez Guerrero

Luis is a marine biologist and ecophysiologist interested in understanding how changes in the underwater environment translate into physiological responses in marine photosynthetic organisms. He earned his PhD in Biological Sciences from The Pennsylvania State University, where he focused his research on coral photobiology, bioenergetics, biomineralization, and carbon cycling. His work examined how light availability and photosynthetic energy influence coral metabolism and calcification, with particular emphasis on the interaction between coral hosts and their photosynthetic symbionts.

After his PhD, he conducted postdoctoral research at Umeå University in Sweden, where he expanded his research to the ecophysiology of marine macrophytes in the Baltic Sea. There, he investigated how changes in temperature and underwater optical conditions affect photosynthesis, respiration, and primary production. At UNAM, he also studied the ecophysiology of pelagic Sargassum at the Laboratory of Photobiology and Functional Allometry, UASA, examining how physiological and optical traits influence performance and dominance under different environmental conditions.

His research combines measurements of light, photosynthesis, respiration, calcification, optical properties, and carbonate chemistry to understand how environmental conditions affect biological performance. He has presented his research at international scientific conferences and published it in peer-reviewed journals.

For this project, Luis will lead the integration of underwater optics, coral physiology, and calcification. His experience across coral reefs and marine macrophytes, together with his background in photobiology and bioenergetics, provides a strong foundation for testing whether Photosynthetically Usable Energy can transform physical measurements of underwater light into a biologically meaningful predictor of coral performance.

October 2026