Meet the Plant-Animal-Interactions (PAIn) lab members!

Agnes S. Dellinger (PI, ORCID)

PhD, University of Vienna, Austria, 2019
MSc, University of Lund, Sweden/University of Vienna, Austria, 2013
BSc, University of Vienna, Austria, 2010

Agnes is an enthusiastic evolutionary ecologist and fell in love with buzz-pollination and Melastomataceae during her undergrad on a field course in Costa Rica. She has since worked on understanding patterns of flower evolution, trait functioning and how environmental gradients (especially elevational gradients) influence plant-animal interactions. During her PhD, Agnes has spent more than a year working in the rainforests of Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia and Peru, and in 2023 completed her postdoc project (as PI on T-1186) in the lab of Stacey Smith at CU Boulder, USA before taking up her Tenure-Track position at the University of Vienna. Agnes has also participated in several projects on her native Alpine flora, with the most fun projects for her being high-elevation vegetation relevés that require long hikes and scrambles to get to. CV

Constantin Kopper (research associate)

PhD, University of Vienna, Austria, 2025
MSc, University of Vienna, Austria, 2021
BSc, University of Vienna, Austria, 2018

Constantin did his BSc in zoology and switched to botany for his MSc, where he worked on pollination syndromes in four Neotropical Melastomataceae tribes which have shifted pollinators, combining fieldwork in Colombia and Costa Rica with comparative morphological analyses. In 2021, he started his PhD working on pantropical pollination syndromes in Melastomataceae on a family wide scale including macroevolutionary and ecogeographic questions. In August 2025, Constantin defended his PhD and is now getting ready for the next steps. When he is not working on Melastomataceae, Constantin likes to go hiking and backcountry snowboarding, gardening, and he also produces sausages and bacon. Constantin is co-advised by Jürg Schönenberger.

Ben Lazarus (PhD Candidate)

PhD Materials Science, UC San Diego, USA, 2022
MS Materials Science, UC San Diego, USA
BSc, College of William and Mary, Wiliamsburg, USA, 2019

Ben is a doctoral student in the Dellinger lab studying the diversification of buzz pollinated Melastomataceae. Prior to joining the lab in 2023, he completed an M.S. and Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering under Professor Marc Meyers at the University of California San Diego where he studied structure-property relationships in biological materials like jackfruit, horse hooves, and arapaima scales with a focus on their dynamic mechanical behavior. Ben aims to combine the techniques he learned in his previous research with fieldwork and phylogenetic comparative methods to better understand the radiation of floral morphologies through evolutionary time. 

Fabian Polz (Technician)

MSc, University of Vienna, 2025
BSc, University of Vienna

Fabian is really interested in the interconnectedness of biological systems. He wrote his bachelor thesis on pollen release patterns of buzz-pollinated flowers with different architectures with Agnes. For his MSc thesis, he delved deeply into µCT scanning and 3D image processing to explore how stamen volumes change with pollinator shifts and among bee-pollinated Merianieae. After graduating, Fabian decided to stay in the PAIn lab to work as a technician in the MountBuzz project, where he helps with CT-scanning and image analyses, as well as DNA barcoding and pollen counting. Besides science, Fabian is very passionate about dancing (waacking) and training for dancing competitions.

Manuela Villa-Villegas (freelance reserach assistant)

Manuela completed her BSc in biology in Colombia, and is now a MSc student in Ecology and Ecosystems from the University of Vienna. She is passionate about exploring the interactions between living organisms that have shaped our planet’s remarkable biodiversity. She is currently working in the lab analyzing 3D models of stamens from various species in the Melastomataceae family to investigate how stamen biomechanical properties influence pollen release in buzz-pollinated flowers.

Johan Esteban Urrea Cardenas (PhD Candidate)

MSc, Pontifica Universidad Javeriana, Colombia, 2023

Johan’s research focuses on the evolution and diversity of the Neotropical tribe Pyxidantheae (Melastomataceae), alongside the systematics and taxonomy of the tribe. Johan is interested in exploring the relationship between reproductive structures (flowers and fruits) and their interactions with pollinators, dispersers, and environmental variables from both macro- and microevolutionary perspectives. His goal is to understand how the mosaics of pollinators and dispersers have shaped the diversity of the tribe across its geographical distribution.

César Augusto Arvelos (PhD Candidate)

MSc, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil (2023)
BSc, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Brazil (2021)

César is a PhD student working on the MountBuzz project, exploring how plant-pollinator interactions evolve across tropical mountain gradients. He’s particularly fascinated by the buzz-pollination system. During his undergraduate studies, he developed an innovative method using bioacoustics to identify bee species through the sounds they produce while pollinating poricidal flowers. This project laid the foundation for his MSc, where he investigated how sound complexity predicts bee diversity and linked it to male fitness in plants, providing evidence for an optimal vibrational niche in buzz-pollinated species. When he’s not in the field or analyzing data, César enjoys playing music, reading poetry, gaming, and spending time with friends.

Andrea Errante (PhD student)

Andrea completed completed his bachelor’s degree in Natural Sciences at the University of Bologna, where his thesis focused on historical records of fruticose lichens. His research interests lie in plant evolution, systematics, and taxonomy, particularly in tropical and subtropical regions. He is passionate about conservation and aspires to contribute to biodiversity preservation through work on endangered or understudied plant species, as well as through science communication.
Andrea completed his Master’s thesis on reproductive strategies of Melastomataceae on Mount Kinabalu (Borneo) in September 2025 and transitioned into a PhD position within the MountBuzz project, where he will embarc on further fieldwork in Borneo and Madagascar. Outside of research, he enjoys hiking, cycling, and gardening.

 

Juliane Nazari-Montazer (MSc student)

Juliane is a Master’s student with a passion for bees. This, combined with her background in botany, has lead to a growing intrest in buzz pollination. She has been counting a lot of pollen lately and is eager to dive into the next project soon. She will be joining the next MountBuzz expedition to Ecuador!
When she is not thinking about bees, Juliane also enjoys playing volleyball and board games

Lalaina Ramiliarisona (PhD student)

I am Lalaina Fenosoa Ramiliarisona, a PhD student from Madagascar participating in the MountBuzzProject. I am passionate about exploring how the diversity and reproductive strategies of Melastomataceae vary along environmental gradients, using Marojejy National Park in Madagascar as a model system. My research focuses on understanding how elevation influences species composition and pollinator interactions, particularly within the genus Gravesia, which occurs across all elevation zones. Through this project, I aim to develop strong expertise in Melastomataceae taxonomy while also mastering ecological and quantitative approaches such as biodiversity analysis, pollination ecology, and data interpretation. Ultimately, my goal is to bridge taxonomy and ecology to better understand how species diversify and adapt in tropical montane environments, and to generate outcomes that contribute both to global scientific knowledge and to local conservation and education efforts in Madagascar and other tropical regions. Lalaina is based at the University of Antananarivo, but will visit the PAIn lab in 2026.

Tsito Randriatsitohaina (PhD student)

My name is Richard Dominique RANDRIATSITOHAINA, a new PhD student from Madagascar. I would like to investigate the reproductive ecology of the Melastomataceae family in Marojejy National Park, Madagascar. I focus on the genus Medinilla, whose species have almost distinctive bell-shaped, pendant flowers that produce nectar, a syndrome suggesting adaptation to vertebrate pollinators. By integrating field observations, pollinator studies, and experiments, I aim to link these floral traits, phenology, and fruit types to reproductive success, and understanding how pollination systems shape plant strategies in a tropical mountain environment. Tsito is based at the University of Antananarivo but will visit the PAIn lab in 2026.

Philipp Weber (MEd student)

Philipp is a Master’s student in the Teacher Education Programme (Biology and English). He is deeply passionate about biology, with particular interest in ecological topics, and has a strong enthusiasm for languages. In his Master’s thesis, he will investigate aspects of buzz pollination in Melastomataceae, focusing on the vibration patterns produced by buzz-pollinating bees. To pursue this research, he will join the upcoming MountBuzz expedition to Ecuador, which marks his first experience with fieldwork of this kind. When he is not wandering through fields and forests, he is probably reading, gaming, doing sports, learning new languages (currently Spanish), playing the guitar or travelling.

Julian Gericke (MSc student)

Julian did his BSc in Biology in Germany and is now doing his MSc in Vienna. He found his big love for the tropics during an internship at STRI in Panama. Right now he is doing research for his master thesis in Borneo, where he is always in the field trying to get bees to visit his ever evolving test stand. His interest lies in the significance of frequency and amplitude for pollen release during buzz pollination and in trying to standardize the amplitude measurement of the buzz. Not only does he like to film and record bees but also everything else nature has to offer. Apart from that, he also likes art in every shape or form and to ride his bike all over the world.

Katharina Kagerl (MSc student)

Katharina started working with Agnes in spring 2020 to investigate the pollination biology of the pollination-generalist Phyteuma orbiculare (Campanulaceae). Specifically, she explores how pollinator communities in P. orbiculare change along an elevational gradient in the Eastern Alps close to Vienna. Katharina is co-advised by Jürg Schönenberger and currently also works for the GLORIA project at BOKU.

Paula Huber (MSc student)

Paula started working with Agnes in fall 2020 to study pollination syndromes in the Ranunculaceae genus Clematis. She focuses on the four Austrian Clematis species, comparing pollinator compositions of each of the three species with more restricted ranges (C. alpina, C. integrifolia, C. recta) co-occurring with the very widespread C. vitalba.

Former lab members

Sophia Friedrich (former MSc student)

In March 2025, Sophia defended her MSc thesis where she manipulated single traits in Melastomataceae flowers in isolation to understand the role of specific flower traits in governing pollen release.

 

MSc thesis: 10.25365/thesis.80720

Imran Sadovic (former research assistant)

Imran worked as a research assistant between 2023 and 2026 with Ben and in the MountBuzz project where he analyzed video and audio data of pollinator visits conducted fieldwork in Florida, Borneo, Colombia and Ecuador.

Viktoria Wieser (former MSc student)

In September 2025, Viki defended her Master thesis on the ecology and evolution of domatia in Pyxidantheae, a tribe of Melastomataceae, and their mite inhabitants! Congrats! Viki has now moved on to her next adventure: pursuing a PhD at the University of Melbourne.

 

MSc thesis: 10.25365/thesis.79064

Isadora Skudelny (Research assistant)

During her time in the PAIn lab in 2025, Isadora assisted in two projects on buzz-pollination (FWF project “Flower biomechanics and the buzz-pollination niche”, ERC project MountBuzz).

Karen Pérez (BSc student at UNAM, México, internship)

Karen did an internship with Agnes in fall 2023 to analyse her own field data on pollinator dependence along an elevational gradient in Mexico, and to explore pollinator dependence and efficiency in the genus Rhexia via pollen counting.

Karolina Gwardiak (MSc, Erasmus internship)

After graduating with a degree in environmental protection from the University of Warsaw, Karolina looked for inspiration and new challenges in the science world. She joined Agnes’ lab from October 2023 to March 2024 for an Erasmus internship. She helped with ongoing projects in the lab, but mostly her work focused on pollinator sharing of co-flowering Rhexia species. She explored how co-flowering affects pollination performance, visitation rate, and pollinator diversity in Rhexia mariana and presented her results at Ecoflor2024 and heped write up a manuscript.

Ash Kerber (BSc student at CU Boulder with Stacey Smith; co-advised)

Ash is excited about bugs and is working in the entomological collections of the Natural History Museum at CU Boulder while doing her undergrad there. She joined Agnes to do fieldwork in Florida in July 2022 to work on buzz-pollination of the Melastomataceae genus Rhexia, and decided to continue working on this system for her Honors thesis in summer 2023! Ash now moved on to a MSc programme at CU Denver.