Web team

Milan Janda

Project leader, data processing, taxonomy

I’m a researcher at Laboratory of ecology and evolution of social insects at Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences and visiting professor at National Institute of Genomic for Biodiversity, Langebio, Mexico. My research interests are ecology and evolution of ants, including diversity patterns, biogeography and phylogeography of Melanesian species. I’m also interested in interactions between ants and other organisms. Since 2002 our team has been surveying ant fauna across New Guinea with aim to build resources for further knowledge of Melanesian ants.

Personal website: M. Janda at CAS ;

Marek Borowiec

Taxonomic expertise & material processing

My activities in New Guinean ant project include processing samples from Winkler apparatus and identification of species. My primary research interests are taxonomy, phylogeny, and zoogeography of the Formicidae. Currently I am focused on diversity and evolution of the subfamily Cerapachyinae. Other biology-related interests cover natural history, biographies, history of biology. I am studying at Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Wrocław, Poland. (e-mail: petiolus@gmail.com)

Petr Klimes

Material and data processing, canopy ants

I am postdoctoral researcher at the Biology Center, Czech Academy of Sciences & Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, participating on projects of prof. Novotny tropical research group. I am interested in ecology and diversity of ants and their insect symbionts, with the main focus on the arboreal species of lowland forest of New Guinea. My other research interests include feeding ecology of the granivorous carabid beetles in Europe and the interactions of insects and their feeding resources.

Eric Youngerman

Material and data processing, taxonomy

After being introduced to the Ants of New Guinea project as an undergraduate at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, I spent a year as a research assistant at the New Guinea Binatang Research Center, assisting with all things ant related. Although I remain involved with the Ants of New Guinea, I have switched study systems and continents, focusing on the ant, Mymelachista schumanni, and its host plants in the Peruvian Amazon. This September (2014), I will start a PhD in the Longino Lab at the University of Utah, where I intend to continue working on members of the genus Myrmelachista, while remaining involved with the Ants of New Guinea team.

Pavel Matos Maravi

Sentiko Ibalim

Ana Jesovnik

Material processing, leaf litter ants

I have graduated biology on University in Zagreb and my current job is teaching biology in primary school in Croatia. My work for New Guinea project include isolation of Mini-Winkler samples and sorting them to morpho species. My interest in ants are very broad- I can see my self doing almost anything form ecology and behavior, to taxonomy and phylogeny. I am a current president of Croatian myrmecological society, and we are mostly doing the inventory and ecology projects. I would like to be admitted to an ant-related PhD program for the next year. (e-mail: ana.mrav@gmail.com, web: http://mirmekolozi.wordpress.com/)

Katayo Sagata

Field research & data collecting

Katayo is a biologist at PNG Institute of Biological Research and at La Trobe University. He is interested in ecology and systematcis of Melanesian ants. Katayo participates on data and material collecting mainly from high elevation sites.

Jakub Kotrla

Database & webpage development

I have graduated in computer science and now I am a programmer and web developer. Ants always fascinated me - their social behaviour and interactions have parallels in computer science (mostly in artificial intelligence). I've developed newguineants.org as a database with web frontend using PHP & MySQL and jQuery.