The Great Karoo – a refuge for the trapdoor spider

The Karoo stretches 400 000 square kilometres over the provinces of the Eastern, Northern and Western Cape. Its vast, open semi-desert landscapes offer a sense of escapism and nothingness, guaranteeing peace and tranquillity for anyone who visits.

The Great Karoo – a refuge for the trapdoor spider

BioGaps Spider Team.

Researchers

Professor Catherine Sole

Professor Catherine Sole's research is driven by the power of molecular techniques in testing evolutionary processes at various levels: population, species and higher taxa with special focus on invertebrates. She aims to find common evolutionary patterns in different taxa that reflect landscape and phylogenetic changes; and linking them to climatic, biogeographic and geological changes.

She is affiliated with the University of Pretoria Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI) to which she contributes entomological capacity and expertise.

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