To study my research questions focusing on ants and the hidden network of arthropods that live in and around their nests, I use a wide variety of approaches:

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• field experiments: assessing abiotic and biotic drivers of diversity change, manipulation experiments, functioning of natural systems (with Dries Bonte, Ugent)

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• lab experiments: behavioral tests, tracking experiments, aggression tests

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• chemical analyses: nest recognition cues (GCMS, with Tom Wenseleers, KU Leuven), stable isotopes (with Pascal Boeckx, Ugent), lipid analyses, sugar and amino acid analysis (HPLC, with Wim Van den Ende, KU Leuven)

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• molecular approaches: barcoding, microbiome, endosymbionts (with Nicky Wybouw, Ugent Piotr Łukasik, Jagiellonian) 

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• theoretical ecology approaches (with Frederik de Laender, UNamur)