Education
09/2006 - present: PhD thesisQueen Mary, University of London, UK
Supervisor: Prof Lars Chittka
01/2005 - 11/2005: Masters thesis
University of Würzburg, Germany and Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL), UK
Title: "Foraging strategies in bumblebees - a comparison between island and mainland populations"
Advisors:
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Tautz, University of Würzburg, Germany
Prof. Dr. Lars Chittka, QMUL, UK
10/1999 - 09/2005: Diploma in Biology
University of Würzburg, Germany
Major: Animal Behaviour and Sociobiology
Minors: Animal Ecology, Plant Physiology & Biophysics
Grants
2008: University of London Central Research Fund - £1,200A study of circadian foraging patterns of bumblebees under continuous daylight in the sub-arctic summer.
2008: Lapland Atmosphere-Biosphere Facility (LAPBIAT) - €4,124
What acts as a Zeitgeber on bumblebees under continuous daylight?
2007: Lapland Atmosphere-Biosphere Facility (LAPBIAT) - €3,995
Monitoring circadian foraging patterns of bumblebees under the midnight sun using radio frequency identification (RFID).
Awards and scholarships
2008: Prize for the 'Best Organismal and Environmental Biology Poster' at the SBCS Postgraduate Symposium at Queen Mary, University of London - £10002/2008 - present: Westfield Trust Studentship - £1215 p.m.
09/2006 - 01/2008: Queen Mary Studentship - £1190 p.m.
Research Experience
During my Diploma I have gained much practical research experience with leaf-cutting ants (Acromyrmex lundi) and bumblebees (Bombus terrestris).Bumblebees
As a temporary research assistant at the University of Würzburg, Germany, and at QMUL, UK, I performed several different experiments concerning the learning behaviour of bumblebees in the laboratory. I also conducted field work, for example measuring the foraging performance of colonies from different bumblebee populations on Sardinia, Tenerife and in Germany and establishing flower visitation and nectar secretion rates for several plant species on Tenerife and Sardinia.
Leaf-cutting ants
I maintained laboratory colonies and conducted experiments with leaf-cutting ants concerning plant species/ leaf selection as a research assistant in the group of Prof. Dr. Flavio Roces at the University of Würzburg, Germany.
Other
2005 - presentI have established a biology related website (http://www.bio-loge.de) in German to inform non-specialists interested in biology about the findings of current research, especially in the field of animal behaviour.
1999 - present
Volunteering work for the "Lebenshilfe Würzburg", Würzburg, Germany, a non-profit organisation devoting itself entirely to people with intellectual disabilities and their families. I take part in a care scheme for disabled people to allow their relatives some recreation time, this also involves accompanying disabled people on holiday trips to locations in Germany, Europe and the USA, for example London, Rome, Chicago and Los Angeles. In some of these journeys I have been in charge.
March 2003
Zoo keeper's assistant Nürnberg, Germany (Tiergarten Nürnberg). I worked with a range of different species, although mainly with large predators.
Personal Details
Date of birth: 04/11/1977 in Ansbach, GermanyNationality: German