Animal Cognition & Ecology lab

I am an evolutionary biologist and entomologist specializing in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). I obtained my Bachelor’s degree in Biology in Colombia, where I first encountered insect collections and began working as an assistant curator of the Hymenoptera order with a focus on ants. This early experience inspired my long-term interest in myrmecology and in the scientific value of natural history collections.

During my Master’s studies, I fully focused on ants. I participated in the Ant Course in 2013 in Peru and later completed my thesis on the molecular phylogeny of the Limata complex of Crematogaster ants in the Neotropics in collaboration with colleagues in Brazil. I subsequently moved to Germany with a DAAD scholarship to pursue my PhD, where I investigated starvation resistance and nutritional ecology in different species of ants, employing behavioral and genomic approaches and applying comparative phylogenetic methods.

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Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher in the ACElab, working on cognitive approaches to control the invasive ant Linepithema humile, developing innovative strategies to manage populations in Spain. Beyond research, I am also the happy mother of Emma.

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