Students present research findings at the American Arachnological Society

Seven students who conduct spider research under the direction of Anne Danielson-Francois, assistant professor of biology, in her lab at the University of Michigan-Dearborn flew to Portland Ore. this July to present their research findings at the American Arachnological Society.

The event was hosted at Lewis and Clark College, with researchers from all over the world--including Australia, Korea, Taiwan, Brazil and other countries--in attendance.

As part of the trip, the students went on a spider-collecting trip in the Pacific Northwest with researchers from the meeting, including scientists from the Smithsonian and the Queensland Museum. They collected spiders, including a hard-to-find mygalomorph species, which were brought back for further research in the laboratory and are also being used for teaching purposes in Biol 424/524 Biology of Spiders, taught this semester by Danielson-Francois.

The students who participated are Sabah Gagnon, Samaa Lutfi, Tina Chaalan, Charles Ford, Yevhen Drobot, Samantha Michaels and Liza Zimmerman.

Photos courtesy Anne Danielson-Francois.