Lecture “Cave spiders of the Dinarides – DNA, biogeography and ecological modeling in the light of climate change”
Lecturer: Martina Pavlek
Spiders are one of the most numerous groups of invertebrates in the caves of the Dinarides, and as apex predators, they play an irreplaceable role in maintaining the stability of the cave ecosystem. Although it seems that they and other inhabitants of the underground are well protected, this is unfortunately not true, because the changes in the environment caused by human activity unfortunately also affect the caves.
Research on cave spiders in the Dinarides began way back in 1847, with the description of the first cave spider in the world, and until recently was based solely on morphological characteristics, which, although extremely informative and important, can lead to wrong conclusions.
If you want to find out how DNA can reveal hidden biodiversity, much greater than currently known, and how ecological modeling can predict which species are most threatened by changes in the environment, primarily temperature rise, come to the lecture.
Istraživanja špiljskih pauka na Dinaridima počela su davne 1847. godine, s opisom prvog špiljskog pauka na svijetu, i do nedavno su se temeljila isključivo na morfološkim karakteristikama, koje iako jesu iznimno informativne i bitne, mogu dovesti do krivih zaključaka. Ako želite saznati kako DNA može otkriti skrivenu bioraznolikost, puno veću od trenutno poznate, te kako ekološkim modeliranjem možemo predvidjeti koje su vrste najugroženije zbog promjena u okolišu, prvenstveno povišenja temperature, dođite na predavanje.
Monday, February 17, 2020, at 8:00 p.m. on the CBSS premises.
