lab members

With an early education in Slovenia, a graduate education in the USA, and numerous expeditions led around the world's tropics, I am a global scientist and explorer, with a keen interest to advance our understanding of the state of biodiversity, including its conservation.

I aim to understand the sex-specific evolution of traits; and how these relate to sexual conflict. My research focuses on the study of sex differences in behaviour and life history from a variety of perspectives.

I am mainly interested in the evolution and functional ecology of spider webs and material properties of silk, as well as how spider webs and silk can be used as eDNA sources. I am also interested in how sexual and natural selections shape behaviors.

I am interested in systematics and evolutionary biology of spiders.

I am interested in biogeography and evolutionary biology of animals.

My research interests lie in understanding the molecular basis of evolutionary adaptations. As a question-driven evolutionary biologist, I have studied, amongst other things, sexual selection, morphology, phylogenetics, and visual gene expression of organisms as diverse as spiders, cuttlefishes, and deep-sea fishes.

My interests primarily lie in spider natural history, and I am passionate in applying molecular approaches in solving research questions.

I am interested in animal behavior and how it is affected by urbanization.

I am interested in eDNA from spider webs and its use for biomonitoring and other purposes.

I am interested in biogeography, phylogeography, evolutionary biology, comparative biology, and urban ecology of spiders, especially fishing spiders (Dolomedes).

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