Student research
Topics for potential bachelor thesis projects
- Beschrijf nieuwe soorten Leotia (Fungi, Ascomycota)
- Beschrijf nieuwe soorten Chlorociboria (Fungi, Ascomycota)
- Laboulbeniales op arthropoden: vergelijken van gastheergroepen en entomologische technieken
- Schimmelparasieten op invasieve lieveheersbeestjes in ruimte en tijd
- Interacties in een verborgen microkosmos: mieren, mierengasten en fungale ectoparasieten
- Laboulbeniales-zwammen op insectencollecties
- Diversiteit van Laboulbeniales in Noorwegen
Topics for potential master thesis projects
- Identifying global hotspots for fungal diversity and endemism
- Revision of sequenced fungarium specimens of Lactifluus: morphology, analysis of amplicon sequence data, and linkage to ecology
- Composition of bacterial biofilms on insect-associated Laboulbeniomycetes fungi
- Zombie fungi in the tropics: Hyperparasites of zombie-ant fungi
- Distribution and host range of zombie fungi along latitudinal gradients
Current master thesis projects
- Diversity and species delimitation in Arthrorhynchus (Aimée Blondelle, 2023-2024)
- A fungal monitoring project in Honduras: community ecology and taxonomy (Libelje Mortier, 2023-2024)
- Hesperomyces harmoniae: affect of abiotic factors and transmission to native ladybirds (Daphne Hessmann, 2023-2024)
- Abiotic factors influencing the presence and prevalence of parasitic microfungi on an invasive ladybird (Silas Art, 2024-2025)
- Cospeciation between Laboulbeniales microfungi and their arthropod hosts (Felix Heyman, 2024-2025)
- Screening insect collections for the presence of ectoparasitic microfungi (Camille Young, 2024-2025)
- Zombie fungi in the tropics: Ecological insights into their impact on arthropod host communities (Brecht Verleyen, 2024-2025)
- Environmental preferences of Laboulbeniales microfungi obligately associated with insects (Renārs Gūts, 2025-2026)
Previous master thesis projects
- The Funga from Honduras (Ruben Vanhoomissen, 2022-2023)
- A survey of ant nest-associated microorganisms in Belgium and The Netherlands (Koen Martens, 2022-2023)
- Disentangling species in the genus Laboulbenia (Fungi, Ascomycota) using molecular phylogenetic data (Warre Van Caenegem, 2022-2023)
- Abiotic factors influencing the presence and prevalence of parasitic microfungi on an invasive ladybird (Brianna Santamaria, 2022-2023)
