I am a PhD student at the University of Vermont studying the evolutionary history and biogeography of Deinopidae, the net-casting spider. My most recent study in the Journal of Biogeography tested the role of GAARlandia (Greater Antilles Aves Ridge) in the colonization of Deinopis of the Caribbean. I am to expand this study globally to encompass the family of Deinopidae and examine the evolutionary shifts of sensory systems, particularly vision, in this lineage of spiders.
