Universität Regensburg
Institut für Zoologie
D-93040 Regensburg
Tel. --49 941 943 3093
Room 3.0.31 |
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Publications
Curriculum Vitae
Scientific Interests:
My main research interests center around the evolution, ecology,
and behaviour of decapod Crustacea, with an emphasis on the combined
use of morphological and molecular data to address systematic,
phylogeographic, and ecological questions. Our study group is
currently working on the following research projects:
1) Phylogeny and taxonomy of selected decapod superfamilies.
Genetic and morphological (adult and larval) comparisons of different
brachyuran taxa have revealed that current composition of many
superfamilies, families and genera does not agree with their phylogenetic
relationships. My current phylogenetic research is devoted to
brachyuran families comprised within the Thoracotremata and the
superfamilies Portunoidea, Cancroidea and Xanthoidea. Results
shall contribute to the definition of taxonomic units reflecting
phylogenetic relationships and thus to contribute to the construction
of the tree of
life.
2) Adaptive radiation of land crabs from the Greater Antilles:
ecological mechanisms and intraspecific plasticity
(funded by DFG Schu 1460/3 as part of SPP1127).
In this project, the phylogeny, ecology, and population genetics
of endemic freshwater and terrestrial crabs of Jamaica and the
other Greater Antilles Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico are compared.
In Jamaica, ten described (probably more) species of crabs belonging
to the family Sesarmidae thrive in complete independence from
the sea, colonising exceptional freshwater or terrestrial habitats
such as limestone caves, bromeliad leaf axils, and empty shells
of land snails. We are studying genetic and morphological differentiation
between crab populations as well as the behaviour and the evolution
of social systems (see research Luise
Heine) of these recent land-dwellers. In contrast, the land
crab fauna of the other Greater Antilles (family Pseudothelphusidae,
genus Epilobocera) appears genetically and ecologically
impoverished. The mechanisms favouring the onset of adaptive radiations
are investigated (see research Tobias
Santl).
3) Endemism in partly isolated ocean basins, as exemplified
by Decapoda of the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Molecular and morphological markers are being used to compare
the crustacean fauna of the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of
Mexico with the one from adjacent regions in the Atlantic. Endemism
in the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico is far more pronounced
than presently reported and appears partly due to Pliocene and
Pleistocene shifts in seal level and water currents. Molecular
analyses facilitate the recognition of these endemisms and emphasize
the need for protection of marine habitats in the Mediterranean
(see research Silke Reuschel)
and northern Gulf of Mexico. Comparisons are extended to include
decapod populations from the eastern tropical Atlantic, the Caribbean
and tropical eastern Pacific to contrast transisthmian differentiation
on both sides of the Panama landbridge with amphi-Antlantic differentiation.
4) Radiations and phylogeography of Eurasian terrestrial and
freshwater Decapoda
(funded by DFG Schu 1460/6). In Europe and Asia, several different
lineages of decapod Crustacea have colonised freshwater and terrestrial
habitats. While several species of astacid crayfish are common
in streams and lakes all over Europe, freshwater crabs of the
genus Potamon are restricted to Italy and southeastern Europe.
We are investigating population genetics and ecology of the stone
crayfish Austropotamobius torrentium in and around Germany and
of the crab Potamon fluviatile in Italy and Greece. In tropical
Asia, a much more diverse fauna of freshwater crabs (superfamilies
Potamoidea and Gecarcinucoidea) is present. In the ancient lakes
of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, a number of parathelphusine
crabs and atyid shrimps (see reserach Kristina
Zitzler) have experienced a recent radiation with ecological
specialisation. The colonisation history of Asia by gecarcinucoid
crabs (see research Sebastian
Klaus) and of the ancient lakes in Sulawesi (see research Peter Koller) are studied
to understand historic migration patterns and incipient speciation
after colonistaion of new habitats in these freshwater crabs.
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