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. 

Viktoria Wieser (research associate)

Viki did her BSc at University of Vienna in Biology with the specialisation Botany and completed her MSc in Botany in September 2025. Viki is particularly interested in plant-animal interactions since doing internships in agricultural research. Prior to working in the PAIn lab Viki had worked at AGES (Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety) with plant parasitic nematodes, fruit flies and other plant pathogens, furthering her interest in herbivory. Her Bachelor thesis was on the topic of specialised metabolites that could protect plants from generalist herbivores such as Spodoptera littoralis. In her Master thesis with Agnes Viki worked on the ecology and evolution of domatia in Pyxidantheae, a tribe of Melastomataceae, and their mite inhabitants. Viki is now getting ready for her next steps: pursuing a PhD at the University of Melbourne.
In her free time Viki likes to do creative things like paint and sew and on the days she needs to let go of pent-up energy she plays icehockey, goes bouldering or inlineskating.

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.

Imran Sadovic (research assistant)

Imran works as a research assistant in the MountBuzz project. His studies and interests have led him through a variety of topics, starting with a Bachelor in Liberal Arts and Sciences with a focus on bryophyte ecology, followed by a Master’s degree in Ecology and Ecosystems where he gained an interest in broader community ecology, and especially alpine plants and elevational gradients. In the PAIn lab, he analyzed video and audio data of pollinator visits conducted fieldwork in Borneo for the MountBuzz project. In his free time, Imran enjoys reading and learning about history, as well as keeping in touch with his friends all around the world.

 

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

Sophia Friedrich (MSc student)

With a background in mathematics, Sophia joined the PAIn lab in spring 2025 to work on the biomechanics of buzz-pollination together with Agnes and Ben. Sophia is conducting manipulative vibration experiments with the Melastomataceae collections in the greenhouses at the University of Vienna, manipulating single traits in isolation to understand the role of specific flower traits in governing pollen release.

Lalaina Ramiliarisona (PhD student)

I am Lalaina Fenosoa Ramiliarisona, a PhD student from Madagascar participating in the MountBuzz Project. 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.

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

Isadora Skudelny (Research assistant)

Isadora did her Bachelor of Science in Biology, specializing in Ecology and Marine Biology at the University of Vienna. In her Masters degree “Ecology and Ecosystems”, she shifted her focus to working with insects, especially grasshoppers and nocturnal moths (Erebidae: Arctiinae). During her time in the PAIn lab, she assisted in two projects about 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.