|
Teaching classes:
Zoology
Invertebrate Zoology
Evolution and Phylogeny
Research Fields:
My primary research interests concern the faunistic, sistematics, biogeography and ecology of lower Metazoa and Crustacea. I am concentrating my efforts on a group of animals, collectively known as the meiofauna. Meiofauna consist of invertebrate animals small enough to live within the interstices of aquatic sediments (1.0-0.063 mm in total body size), and almost every major phylum has interstitial representatives, with some phyla being exclusively meiofaunal. I am interested in reconstructing evolutionary relationships within and among such groups as Gastrotricha, Loricifera, and marine Harpacticoida using advanced microscopy and molecular approaches. I’m also interested in verifying the physical, chemical and biological factors influencing the distribution and abundance of meiofaunal organisms, and in assessing the impact that stress of natural as well as anthropogenic origin have on marine meiobenthic communities.
|
