About
Weber Lab
Fields of study: Ecology and evolution of arthropod-plant interactions, phylogenetics, natural history
Research interests: I am excited about different questions in Ecology and Evolution! Although my work is mainly focused on arthropods, I have a broad interest in other biological systems (if the question is exciting, so is the system!). As an undergrad, I worked with integrative taxonomy. During the Master’s, I worked on ant intraspecific genetic diversity at colony and population levels, with a particular focus on how landscapes influence species gene flow. During my PhD, I worked with ant-plant interactions along a latitudinal gradient in the Brazilian Cerrado Savanna, focusing on how environmental heterogeneity, resource availability, as well as ant and plant community traits may influence: ant presence on vegetation, functional trait variation and genetic diversity. I am currently a postdoc in the Weber Lab seeking to understand patterns and potential factors underlying mite-plant interactions along a latitudinal gradient in US. For this purpose, I integrate multiple approaches, including field and herbarium data sampling, molecular tools, and phylogenetic analyses.