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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
Training period: 
To be discussed with mentor
Target Audience: 
MSc students, PhD students and early career researchers Training can be adapted to individual level of trainees
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?
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 B-3080 Tervuren Belgium