Travel and Field Work

Regions visited for spider research

Countries marked in red indicate regions of travel for museum specimens or field work.

Click on image for more information.

2019

Chile
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United States

California Academy of Sciences and Bodega Phylogenetics Workshop, UC Davis

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Australia

 

New Zealand
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2018

India

 

2017

Costa Rica
Monte Verde, Costa Rica (2017): Ryan Fuller (Chicago), myself and Diego Garcia (Peru).
Near Panama border, Costa Rica (2017)
Costa Rica (2017): The Tropical Biology course team
Palo Verde Biological Station, Costa Rica (2017): The Tropical Ecology study team. The only one without any understanding of spanish jumped at ‘dos’.
La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica (2017): Comparison of bait solutions (detergent vs. beer) used in pit-fall traps; beer performed better!
Monte Verde cloud forest, Costa Rica (2017): It’s a digital temperature measuring instrument.
India
2nd SpiderIndia meet organized at the Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary by WE Foundation
Gibbon Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, India (2017): 2nd SpiderIndia meet. (left to right- Ayan Mondal, Debomay Chanda, myself, Satyen Mehta, Pravalikha Gunti and Atul Vartak.

2016

India
During fieldwork at Makunda Campus, Assam, India with an excellent local spider enthusiast.
Fieldwork somewhere in India
Citizen science initiative (2015): School students conducted a bioblitz recording ~40 spider species from Makunda campus, Assam, India. This also led to the discovery of Platythomisus octomaculatus spider from India. http://diversityindianews.blogspot.com/2017/02/rare-spider-spotted-in-remote-hospital.html
Introduction of SpiderIndia initiative and India Biodiversity Portal to the north-east Indian states (2014)
Citizen Science Initiative organized by Makunda Nature Club, Assam, India (2015-16). School students sorted spiders from the biodiverse Makunda campus.
Female crab spider Platythomisus octomaculatus discovered during the citizen science initiative to document spiders in Assam. Photo: Vijay Anand Ismavel.
The name bird dung spider comes from the web and body coloration that imitates bird dung. Photo: Vijay Anand Ismavel.
Fighting males of bird dung spider Phrynarachne species from Assam, India. They are known to compete for female. Photo: Vijay Anand Ismavel.
Female bird dung spider Phrynarachne species from Assam, India. Note the colour variation within the same species. Photo: Vijay Anand Ismavel.

 

Sri Lanka

 

 

 

2015

Netherlands
Roosendaal, Netherlands (2015): Had the opportunity to stay at senior arachnologist Christa Deeleman-Reinhold’s place. Christa has a long list of works on south Asian spiders.

2014

Thailand
Chiang Mai, Thailand (2014): 2nd Asian Arachnology Conference. Presentation on Araneofauna Sahyadri- digitization of spiders of the Western Ghats, India.

 

2010-2013

INDIA
Some place in the Western Ghats, India
Masai rocky outcrop, Western Ghats, India (2014): Amphibian and aquatic beetle biogeography study
Chalkewadi rocky plateau, Western Ghats, India (2013): Fieldwork for amphibian biogeography study during monsoon, with ecologist Todd Lewis, United Kingdom.
Masai rocky plateau, Western Ghats, India (2014) during summer
Panchgani Table Land, India (2014): sampling aquatic beetles from ephemeral pools on rocky outcrops. Jane Akerman, Plymouth University, United Kingdom taking notes. (left)