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Variance decomposition in surface versus cave isopod populations
A longstanding question in evolutionary biology is how within-population phenotypic variation is maintained under natural selection. The...
Feb 11


Systematics and evolution of raft and nursery-web spiders
Pisauridae - nursery-web spiders - are a global and heterogeneous assemblage of spider genera with diverse morphologies and lifestyles....
Feb 4


Dolomedes fishing spider biology
Dolomedes may easily be considered to be among the most charismatic spider taxa. Known colloquially as fishing or raft spiders, this...
Dec 2, 2024


Reviving an an endangered European butterfly
In this study, we focus on Coenonympha oedippus , an endangered butterfly species protected under Annexes II and IV of the EU Habitats...
Sep 3, 2024

Nephila male preference for female size and web clusters
Sexual size dimorphism theory predicts biased operational sex ratios (OSRs) and an uneven distribution of males among certain females. We...
Sep 2, 2024


Spider kleptoparasites on orb web resource patches
The ideal free distribution (IFD) theory predicts that individuals are free to move among habitat patches and distribute among them...
Aug 30, 2024


Spiders manipulate and exploit firefly signals
Predators often search for prey while moving through the environment, but there are important exceptions, including the way sedentary...
Aug 19, 2024


A spider, an ant, and a termite walk into a bar
Ants and termites are insect groups that make up most of the insect biomass in tropical ecosystems. Due to their social structure and...
Jul 15, 2024


DNA barcoding insufficiently identifies European wild bees
Noticeable declines in insect populations have become of concern. Among the system services that functioning ecosystems provide,...
Mar 25, 2024


A 400% increase in Dolomedes diversity on Madagascar
Madagascar is well known for its diverse and unique biota. The combination of a unique geological history of Madagascar and its long...
Feb 27, 2024


Behavioural sex differences in the raft spider
We delved into the fascinating world of Dolomedes fimbriatus, a spider species with significant size differences between females and...
Dec 6, 2023


Mating plugs: for mating or sperm protection
It is generally thought that mating plugs, where present, impede or reduce the possibilities of female subsequent mating. However, mating...
Nov 29, 2023


First stygobiotic form of Garra in Iran
We report the first finding of the stygobiotic form of the cyprinid fish Garra rufa (Heckel, 1843), discovered in a single locality in...
Oct 18, 2023


A new intertidal trapdoor spider species discovered in Taiwan
Spiders are successful predators that inhabit nearly all kinds of terrestrial and even freshwater habitats. However, only a handful of...
Oct 10, 2023

Sex-specific trait architecture in a spider
Sexual dimorphism (sex-specific trait expression) may evolve when selection favours different optima for the same trait between sexes -...
Sep 14, 2023


Improving family-level classifications
Named higher taxa, for example genera and families, must be monophyletic to be phylogenetically valid. Ranked taxa above the species...
May 10, 2023


Island and Rensch’s rules do not apply to Asellus aquaticus
Body size is a trait of fundamental ecological and evolutionary importance that is often different between males and females (sexual ...
May 3, 2023


Postdoc on sexual size dimorphism
Where will your career take you after your doctorate? What will you delve into? Are you interested in sexual selection? How can the sexes...
Apr 25, 2023


Evidence for lekking in a new kite spider
Spiders are notoriously solitary and cannibalistic, with instances of colonial or social lifestyles in only about ~0.1% of described...
Feb 16, 2023


Next-generation biogeography
Historical biogeography is an integrative scientific field critical for testing evolutionary hypotheses pertinent to organismal...
Dec 12, 2022
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