Information about training programme

• Title of training: Identification of Afrotropical spiders (Araneae).
• Description of project: Spiders are among the most visible terrestrial invertebrates and are, thanks to international collaboration, well documented with family overviews for the Afrotropics and the World. The availability of an on-line world catalogue increases the accessibility of this megadiverse group. Therefore they are the taxonomic group par excellence for fine-grained studies in biodiversity and evaluations of habitat quality. The training provides a crash course for morphology based identification of Afrotropical representatives. The collection of the RMCA with more than 4000 identified species is of major importance in this respect.
• Duration of training: 3 weeks

Type of training

Practical experiences

• Techniques (collection, preparation)
• Ecological sampling techniques
• Specimen database development
• Identification of Afrotropical spiders
• Literature search, use of catalogues

Lectures

• Zoogeography of the Afrotropical Region
• Systematics and phylogeny of the Araneae
• Zoological nomenclature

Seminars

• Structure and complexity of spider genitalia; why so complex ?

Contact information of mentor / supervisor

• Name of mentor / supervisor: Dr Rudy Jocqué
• Institution / Organisation: Royal Museum for Central Africa
• EDIT partner number: 14
• Unit / Department / Laboratory: Invertebrates non-insects
• Address: Leuvensesteenweg, 13 3080 Tervuren
• Indicative time period when mentor is not available: dates for training should be discussed prior to visit

Target audience: MSc students, PhD students and early career researchers.

Training can be adapted to individual level of trainees.