Research interests and projects

1.

The role of environmental stress and climatic unpredictability on the dynamics of biodiversity.

The work is done on model organisms such as fungi, insects, rodents, plants and others, collected from stressful and contrasting environments.

As model sites for this project we chose “Evolution Canyon” I, lower Nahal Oren, Mt. Carmel, Israel

and “Evolution Canyon” II at Nahal Keziv, Upper Galilee. This project is supervised by Prof. E. Nevo, the head of the Institute of Evolution at the University of Haifa. 

2.

Distribution, ecology and evolution of earthworms in the Levant

The aim of this project is to update the knowledge on species richness, taxonomy, distribution, ecology and evolution of earthworms in the Levant. So far, 32 species of earthworms were recorded in the Levant (see under Earthworms). At present, we are working on the problems of earthworms survival and populations isolation along the borders between desert and mesic regions. The main collaborator on this project is Dr Cs. Csuzdi.

3.

Distribution and taxonomy of beetles in Israel

The project aims at updating the knowledge about the species richness and distribution of beetles in Israel. It is done mainly in collaboration with Prof. Chikatunov of the Department of Zoology at the Tel Aviv University.