Olivia Moosdorf

Research Interest

My research specifically revolves around male ants. The focus of my bachelor thesis has laid on the investigation of the head morphology of male Dorylus helvolus (Linnaeus, 1764). For my upcoming master thesis, I am extending my studies further by analysing different characteristics of male dorylines. The analysis is based on geometric morphometrics with the objective to determine if differences in shape can be explained by the behaviour of the workers, as a proxy for colony lifestyle.

Research Topics

• Evolutionary morphology
• Phylogeny and Systematics

Research Methods

• Scanning electron microscopy
• µ-computed tomography
• 3D-rendering
• geometric morphometric

Short CV

Since 2020: Master student at Friedrich Schiller University Jena

2016 – 2020: Bachelor of Science at Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Media Coverage

02.02.2022 on Myrmecological News Blog: »Male-worker but not male-queen morphological differences in the head of the ant Dorylus helvolus«External link

Publication

Boudinot, B. E., Moosdorf, O. T. D., Beutel, R. G., & Richter, A. (2021). Anatomy and evolution of the head of Dorylus helvolus (Formicidae: Dorylinae): Patterns of sex- and caste-limited traits in the sausagefly and the driver ant. Journal of Morphology, 282(11), 1616–1658. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.21410