Dr Ulrike Bauer
Research Interests
- Biomechanics and ecology of plants and plant-insect interactions
- Function, development and evolution of biological materials and surfaces
- Trapping mechanisms of carnivorous plants
Academic Career
2023 - present | Senior Research Fellow, Department of Biosciences, University of Exeter, UK |
2017 - 2023 | Royal Society University Research Fellow, School of Biological Science, University of Bristol, UK |
2014 - 2016 | Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, UK |
2010 - 2013 | Henslow Research Fellow, Robinson College / Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, UK |
2006 - 2010 | PhD, Trinity College / Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, UK |
2000 - 2006 | Diploma of Biology, University of Würzburg / University of Düsseldorf, Germany, UK |
Publications
2024 | G Chomicki, G Burin, L Busta, J Gozdzik, R Jetter, B Mortimer & U Bauer. Convergence in carnivorous pitcher plants reveals a mechanism for composite trait evolution. Science 383: 108-113. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ade0529 |
2022 | A-K Lenz & U Bauer. Pitcher geometry facilitates extrinsically powered ‘springboard trapping’ in carnivorous Nepenthes gracilis pitcher plants. Biology Letters 18: 20220106. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0106 |
2022 | U Bauer & S Poppinga. New insights and opportunities from taking a biomechanical perspective on plant ecology. Journal of Experimental Botany 73: 1063-1066. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erac007 |
2022 | A-K Lenz, U Bauer & GD Ruxton. An ecological perspective on water shedding from leaves. Journal of Experimental Botany 73: 1176-1189. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erab479. |
2021 | U Bauer, UK Müller & S Poppinga. Complexity and diversity of motion amplification and control strategies in motile carnivorous plant traps. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288: 20210771. http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0771 |
2021 | D Labonte, A Robinson, U Bauer & W Federle. Disentangling the role of surface topography and intrinsic wettability in the prey capture mechanism of Nepenthes pitcher plants. Acta Biomaterialia 119: 225-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actbio.2020.11.005. |
2020 | C Thorogood & U Bauer. Shedding light on photosynthesis in carnivorous plants. A commentary on: 'Nepenthes × ventrata photosynthesis under different nutrient applications. Annals of Botany 126: iv-v. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaa092 |
2020 | U Bauer, UK Müller & S Poppinga. Mechanical ecology – taking biomechanics to the field. Integrative and Comparative Biology: icaa018. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icaa018 |
2020 | I Karl & U Bauer. Inside the trap: biology and behaviour of the pitcher-dwelling crab spider, Misumenops nepenthicola. Plants People Planet: 2020;2: 290-93. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10104 |
2019 | MR Golos, A-K Lenz, RO Moreno-Tolero, S. Davis & U Bauer. Pitcher plant plastination: preserving botanical specimens for education and display. The Journal of Plastination 31: 15-21. http://journal.plastination.org/archive/jp_vol.31.2/JP_vol.31.2_Dec19_pages15-21.pdf |
2018 | CJ Thorogood, U Bauer & SJ Hiscock. Convergent and divergent evolution in pitcher plant traps. New Phytologist 217: 1035-41. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.14879 |
2018 | U Bauer, R Jetter & S Poppinga. Non-motile traps. In: AM Ellison & L Adamec (eds). Carnivorous Plants – Physiology, Ecology and Evolution, p. 194-206. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780198779841. |
2018 | S Poppinga, U Bauer, T Speck & AG Volkov. Motile traps. In: AM Ellison & L Adamec (eds). Carnivorous Plants – Physiology, Ecology and Evolution, p. 180-93. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780198779841. |
2018 | D Darnowski, U Bauer, M Méndez, J Horner & BJ Płachno. Prey selection and specialization by carnivorous plants. In: AM Ellison & L Adamec (eds). Carnivorous Plants – Physiology, Ecology and Evolution, p. 285-93. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780198779841. |
2018 | JD Horner, BJ Płachno, U Bauer & B Di Giusto. Attraction of prey. In: AM Ellison & L Adamec (eds).Carnivorous Plants – Physiology, Ecology and Evolution, p. 155-66. Oxford University Press. ISBN: 9780198779841. |
2016 | U Bauer, K Rembold & TU Grafe. Carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants are a rich food source for a diverse vertebrate community. Journal of Natural History 50, 483-95. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2015.1059963 |
2015 | U Bauer, M Paulin, D Robert & G Sutton. Mechanism for rapid passive-dynamic prey capture in a pitcher plant. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 112, 13384-89. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510060112 |
2015 | C Collett, A Ardron, U Bauer, G Chapman, E Chaudan, B Hallmark, L Pratt, L Torres-Perez & DI Wilson. A portable extensional rheometer for measuring the viscoelasticity of pitcher plant and other sticky liquids in the field. Plant Methods 11: 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13007-015-0059-5 |
2015 | U Bauer, W Federle, H Seidel, TU Grafe & CC Ioannou. How to catch more prey with less effective traps: explaining the evolution of temporarily inactive traps in carnivorous pitcher plants. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 282: 20142675. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2014.2675 |
2013 | U Bauer, M Scharmann, J Skepper & W Federle. ‘Insect aquaplaning’ on a superhydrophilic hairy surface: how Heliamphora nutans Benth. pitcher plants capture prey. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 280: 20122569. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.2569 |
2012 | U Bauer, B Di Giusto, J Skepper, TU Grafe & W Federle. With a flick of the lid: a novel trapping mechanism in Nepenthes gracilis pitcher plants. PLoS ONE 7: e38961. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0038951 |
2012 | U Bauer, CJ Clemente, T Renner & W Federle. Form follows function: morphological diversification and alternative trapping strategies in carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25: 90-102. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1420-9101.2011.02406.x |
2011 | U Bauer, TU Grafe & W Federle. Evidence for alternative trapping strategies in two forms of the pitcher plant, Nepenthes rafflesiana. Journal of Experimental Botany 62: 3683-92. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/err082 |
2010 | U Bauer. Mechanisms, ecology and evolution of prey capture by Nepenthes pitcher plants. PhD thesis, University of Cambridge, UK. |
2010 | TU Grafe, S Goutte, HH Ahmadsah, O Konopik, M Scharmann & U Bauer. Updated checklist of the amphibians of the Ulu Temburong National Park and Brunei Darussalam. Sciencia Bruneiana 11: 53-59. |
2009 | U Bauer, C Willmes & W Federle. Effect of pitcher age on trapping efficiency and natural prey capture in carnivorous Nepenthes rafflesiana plants. Annals of Botany 103: 1219-26. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcp065 |
2009 | CM Clarke, U Bauer, CC Lee, AA Tuen, K Rembold & JA Moran. Tree shrew lavatories – a novel nitrogen sequestration strategy in a tropical pitcher plant. Biology Letters 5: 632-35. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2009.0311 |
2009 | U Bauer & W Federle. The insect-trapping rim of Nepenthes pitchers: surface structure and function. Plant Signaling & Behavior 4: 1019-23. https://doi.org/10.4161/psb.4.11.9664 |
2009 | U Bauer & W Federle. The role of the peristome in the trapping process of Nepenthes. In: S McPherson. Pitcher Plants of the Old World, Vol. I, p. 72-77. Redfern Natural History Productions, Poole, UK. ISBN: 9780955891823. |
2008 | U Bauer, HF Bohn & W Federle. Harmless nectar source or deadly trap: Nepenthes pitchers are activated by rain, condensation and nectar. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 275: 259-65. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2007.1402 |
2007 | U Bauer, HF Bohn & W Federle. Biomechanics and ecology of prey capture in Nepenthes pitcher plants. In: CC Lee (ed). Proceedings from the Sarawak Nepenthes Summit 2007, Kuching (Malaysia), p. 48-59. |
Conference Talks
2024 |
ICPS Conference, Vienna, Austria (invited speaker): How to make a springboard trap. |
2024 |
UK Plant Biomechanics Day, Cambridge, UK (invited keynote speaker): TBC |
2024 | Royal Society Meeting of the Minds, London, UK (plenary): The tricks and traps of carnivorous pitcher plants. |
2023 | Biomechanics in Nature, Wageningen, Netherlands (invited speaker): Carnivorous pitcher plants as models to understand the mechanical ecology of plants |
2022 |
EuroEvoDevo Conference, Naples, Italy (invited speaker): 'Springboard' trapping in carnivorous pitcher plants: a composite synergistic trait facilitated by pre-existing phenotypic variability |
2020 | SICB Conference, Austin, TX (invited speaker): Functional surfaces for insect trapping in Asian Nepenthes pitcher plants |
2019 | Structure and Function of Plant Waxes – From Biology to Technology, Bristol, UK (conference organiser): Functional surfaces in plant ecology |
2018 | ICPS Conference, Santa Rosa, CA (invited speaker): Convergent and divergent evolution of pitcher traps |
2018 | Botany, Rochester, MN (invited speaker): Functional surfaces for insect trapping in Asian Nepenthes pitcher plants |
2018 | SEB Annual Meeting, Florence, Italy: Fine-tuning of epicuticular wax crystal structure to adjust trap surface slipperiness in a carnivorous pitcher plant |
2017 | SEB Annual Meeting, Gothenburg, Sweden (invited session keynote): Slip, trip and trap: the biomechanics of pitcher traps and what we can learn from them |
2016 | ICPS Conference, London, UK (invited speaker): The central role of rain in prey capture by Nepenthes pitcher traps |
2016 | Ants and their biotic environment, Munich, Germany: The perfect ant trap: how carnivorous pitcher plants outsmart their prey |
2016 | Royal Entomological Society Meeting, Bristol, UK: Friend or Foe? The Complicated Relationship between Insects and Carnivorous Pitcher Plants |
2015 | SEB Annual Meeting, Prague, Czech Republic: Rapid, passive-dynamic trap movement in a carnivorous pitcher plant |
2014 | GW4 Functional Materials Meeting, Bristol, UK: Springboards, water slides and sticky pools: functional materials and surfaces of carnivorous pitcher plants |
2014 | SEB Annual Meeting, Manchester, UK: How to catch more prey with less effective traps: explaining the evolution of temporarily inactive traps in carnivorous pitcher plants |
2014 | 2nd International Conference on Biological and Biomimetic Adhesives, Istanbul, Turkey: Where Adhesion Fails: Slippery Surfaces of Insect-Trapping Pitcher Plants |
2014 | 2nd Bristol-Kyoto Symposium, Kyoto, Japan (invited talk): Where Adhesion Fails: Slippery Surfaces of Insect-Trapping Pitcher Plants |
2013 | SEB Annual Meeting, Valencia, Spain: Where Adhesion Fails: Slippery Surfaces of Insect-Trapping Pitcher Plants |
2012 | Euro Evo Devo, Lisbon, Portugal (invited speaker): Wax or wetness? Alternative trapping strategies in carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants |
2012 | SEB Annual Meeting, Salzburg, Austria: Form follows function: Diversification of trap morphology and trapping strategies in carnivorous Nepenthes pitcher plants |
2010 | Trinity College Science Symposium, Cambridge, UK: Of water flumes, waxy walls and toilet bowls: Evolution of trapping strategies in Nepenthes pitcher plants (Best oral presentation award) |
2008 | Zoology Graduate Symposium, Cambridge, UK: Harmless nectar source or deadly trap? Wetness-based activation of traps in carnivorous pitcher plants (Best oral presentation award) |
2008 | Annual Meeting of the German Zoological Society (DZG), Jena, Germany: Harmless nectar source or deadly trap? Wetness-based activation of traps in carnivorous pitcher plants |
2007 | Sarawak Nepenthes Summit, Kuching, Malaysia: Biomechanics and ecology of prey capture in Nepenthes pitcher plants |
Seminars and Public Lectures
2023 | Carnivorous plants as models to understand the mechanical ecology of plants
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2022 | My pitcher plant teacher
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2021 | Function, evolution and development of carnivorous pitcher plant traps
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2021 | Convergent and divergent evolution of pitcher plant traps
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2019 | Biomechanics of carnivorous pitcher plants: surfaces and biomaterials for prey capture
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2019 | Springboards, Water Slides and Sticky Pools: How Carnivorous Pitcher Plants Catch their Prey
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2019 | Biomechanics and Ecology of Carnivorous Pitcher Plant Traps
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2017 | Biomechanics and Ecology of Prey Capture in Carnivorous Pitcher Plant Traps
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2016/17 | Springboards, Water Slides and Sticky Pools: How Carnivorous Pitcher Plants Catch their Food
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2015 | The slippery and the slimy: how pitcher plants trap their prey
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2015 | Springboards, water slides and sticky pools: how carnivorous pitcher plants catch their food
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2014 | Indonesia’s Wild East: from Sulawesi to Papua in Wallace’s footsteps
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2014 | Where Adhesion Fails: Slippery Surfaces of Insect-Trapping Pitcher Plants
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2013 | Sumboi-Sumboi: Charismatic Pitcher Plants of Brunei Darussalam
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2013 | Pasir Putih: Introducing the Biodiversity of the Tutong White Sands
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2012/13 | Turning the tables in plant-animal interactions: the tricks and traps of insect-eating pitcher plants
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2011/12 | Of water flumes, waxy walls and toilet bowls: Trapping strategies of carnivorous pitcher plants
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2011 | Von Kloschüsseln und Wasserrutschen: ungewöhnliche Beutefangstrategien bei tropischen Kannenpflanzen
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2010 | Of water flumes, waxy walls and toilet bowls: Evolution of trapping strategies in Nepenthes pitcher plants
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2009 | Plant-insect interactions: Pitcher plants as food source, habitat and deadly predators of insects
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2009 | A journey to the pitcher plants of Sarawak
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2008 | Harmless nectar source or deadly trap? Wetness-based activation of traps in carnivorous pitcher plants
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2006 | Biomechanics of insect-plant interactions: Nepenthes pitcher traps and skilful circumventers (with Holger Bohn)
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Awards and Funding
2022/23 | Royal Society University Research Fellowship Renewal (£ 608,678.29) |
2022 | BCAI MScR Studentship (£ 25,251.11) |
2021 |
Royal Society Enhanced Research Expenses Fund (£ 94,999.84) |
2021 |
HFSP Young Investigator Grant (Co-I) (US$ 365,000.00) |
2021 |
BCAI Project Grant (£ 21,201.06) |
2021 | JXB / BES / New Phytologist Trust conference session sponsorship (£ 4,500.00) |
2020 |
BCAI MScR Studentship (£ 24,095.11) |
2019 |
BCAI Conference Fund (£ 1,486.80) |
2018 | Royal Society Research Grant for Research Fellows (£ 151,155.40) |
2017 | Royal Society Research Fellows Enhancement Award (£ 108,748.00) |
2017 | Royal Society University Research Fellowship (£ 530,572.45) |
2016 | Royal Society Research Grant (£ 14,614.80) |
2015 | Lady Emily Smyth Agricultural Research Station Pump-priming Fund (£ 15,000.00) |
2015 | Category Winner Evolutionary Biology, Royal Society Publishing Photography Competition |
2015 | Biomechanics Section Talk Prize (runner-up), SEB Annual Meeting, Prague |
2014 | Rank Prize Funds New Investigator Award (£ 20,000.00) |
2013 | Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship (£ 87,000.00) |
2011 | Royal Society International Travel Grant (£ 3,200.00) |
2010 | Henslow Research Fellowship of the Cambridge Philosophical Society (£ 62,502.00) |
2010 | Student Poster Prize (runner-up), ATBC Conference, Bali |
2008 | Best Talk, Zoology Graduate Symposium, University of Cambridge |
2006 | Trinity College Cambridge External Research Scholarship |
2005 | DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) Short Term Studentship for Final Projects (€ 2,675.00) |
Public Outreach and Media Presence
2024 | "These carnivorous plants won the evolutionary jackpot" – Science magazine YouTube video |
2022 |
"Shop of Genetic Horrors - The Evolution of Carnivorous Plants" – episode on the Genetics Unzipped Podcast of the Genetics Society |
2019 | "The tricks and traps of insect-eating pitcher plants" – interactive street science session as part of the Bristol Soapbox Science event |
2019 | "The tricks and traps of insect-eating pitcher plants" – booth at the Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition Discovery Hub late opening session in London |
2019 | "The biomechanics of plant-insect interactions" - exhibit at the Cambridge University Library for DISCOVERY – 200 years of the Cambridge Philosophical Society |
2018 | "Insects and pitcher plants – a sticky situation or a slippery slope?" - pub(lic) talk at the Good Chemistry Brewery during the Bristol Pint of Science event |
2017-2019 | "How pitcher plants trap prey" - guest teaching session with year 4 primary school children at Crossways Junior School, Bristol |
2016 | "From juicy critters to tasty poop: the dinner habits of carnivorous pitcher plants" - interactive educational session for families with children (age 5+) at the Kew Science Festival in Kew Gardens, London |
2015 | "Mmmmmm Food" - booth about plant-insect interactions at the Bristol Festival of Nature |
2015 | "How working part-time makes pitcher plants more effective ant killers" – popular science article on The Conversation |
2015 | TV interview for BBC Points West |
2015 | Interview for the Canadian CBC science radio show Quirks & Quarks with Bob McDonald |
2014 | Webinar on carnivorous plants with year 5 school children from Yeomoor Primary School (Somerset) |
2013 | "Sumboi-Sumboi: charismatic pitcher plants of Brunei Darussalam" and " Pasir Putih: introducing the biodiversity of the Tutong White Sands" – public lectures at the 1st Brunei Nature Festival in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei |
2012 | TV interview for ITV East Anglia News |
2012 | Scientific advisor for the SE Asian Nepenthes Study & Research Foundation (SEANSRF) which promotes education, research and nature conservation in Thailand |
2010 | Contribution to the educational EU film project Nanoyou |
2010-present | Foundation and administration of a facebook group promoting nature conservation in Brunei |
2007 | Interview for the BBC Radio 4 science radio show Leading Edge |
2006-2017 | Botanical lay excursions to pitcher plant sites in Brunei Darussalam for Brunei Nature Society and Panaga Natural History Society |
Teaching
- Supervision of PhD, MSci/MRes and undergraduate project students, including visiting students from Germany and France, during field- and lab-based projects
- Development and delivery of undergraduate lectures on plant-insect interactions at the University of Bristol, UK
- Development and delivery of a half-day undergraduate lab on plant-insect interactions at the University of Bristol, UK
- Delivery of a half-day undergraduate lab on insect biology at the University of Cambrige, UK
- Setting and marking of exam questions
- Thesis examinations and vivas (Phd, Masters)
- Annual progress monitoring for the University of Bristol, UK
- Admissions interviews for undergraduate applicants at Robinson College Cambridge, UK
- Small group tutorials ('supervisions') and lab demonstrations for NatSci undergraduates at the University of Cambridge, UK
- Sports coaching: rowing, strength & conditioning, and fitness classes
Project Students
2022-present |
Oona Lessware, PhD (University of Bristol): Developmental biology of superhydrophilic, directional, anti-adhesive plant surfaces |
2018-2024 | Anne-Kristin Lenz, PhD (University of Bristol): Adaptations of plant leaves for avoiding, dissipating or exploiting impact energy |
2018-2024 | Michal R. Golos, PhD (University of Bristol): The effect of plant surface micro-topography on wetting, surface contamination, and insect adhesion and locomotion |
2022-2023 |
Nathanael Tan, MScR (University of Bristol): Adaptations of crop plants to withstand hail impacts |
2022-2023 |
Tjark Maretzke, visiting Erasmus exchange student (Bremen City University of Applied Sciences, Germany) |
2022-2023 |
Torsten Alandt, visiting Erasmus exchange student (Bremen City University of Applied Sciences, Germany) |
2022 |
Janine Drube, BSc thesis project (visiting student from Bremen City University of Applied Sciences, Germany): Plant leaves as biomimetic inspiration for hail-resistant structures |
2021-2022 |
Janine Drube, Erasmus exchange student (Bremen City University of Applied Sciences, Germany): Design and proof of concept of a hail simulator for plant biomechanics research |
2020-2021 |
Veronika Weis, visiting student (Bremen City University of Applied Sciences, Germany): 3D morphometrics of Nepenthes gracilis pitcher traps |
2020-2021 | Oona Lessware, MScR (University of Bristol): Developmental biology of superhydrophilic, directional, anti-adhesive plant surfaces |
2019-2020 | George Hale, MSci (University of Bristol): Investigating the relationship between morphology and drop impact behaviour in dicotyledonous leaves |
2015-2016 | Hannah Berg, MSci (University of Bristol): The function of rain-driven leaf vibrations for prey capture and herbivore defence |
2015 | Emily Wood & Sid Dougan, final year Biology BSc (University of Bristol): Quantification of nectar production by Nepenthes pitchers and nectar intake by foraging Camponotus ants |
2014 | Marion Paulin, training intern (École Nationale Supérieure d’Agronomie de Toulouse, France): Rain-driven vibration of the N. gracilis pitcher lid |
2012 | Michaël Sauvagnat, MRes (University of French Guyana, France): Attraction and recruitment of ants to pitcher plants (field project) |
2008 | Hannes Seidel, final year Biology BSc (University of Würzburg, Germany): Implications of intermittent trap activation for prey capture by Nepenthes pitcher plants (field project) |
2007 | Christoph Willmes, final year Biology BSc (University of Würzburg, Germany): Ontogeny of Nepenthes pitchers and implications for prey capture (field project) |
2007 | Ingolf Karl, final year Biology BSc (University of Würzburg, Germany):Behaviour and ecology of the pitcher plant inhabiting crab spider, Misumenops nepenthicola (field project) |
2007 | Tilo Weber, final year Biology BSc (University of Würzburg, Germany): Wetness-based trap activation in Nepenthes pitcher plants: implications for ant recruitment (field project) |