Baumann, Julia, Mag. Dr.rer.nat.

Research interests
I am an acarologist interested in taxonomy, biogeography, biology and behavior of acariform mites. With the aid of morphometric methods (including geometric morphometrics), I aim to solve questions regarding diversification processes and to improve taxonomic standards. Although working with different mite taxa, my main focus lies in the small soil-living mite family Scutacaridae, which often can be found associated to a variety of hosts like ants, beetles or termites.

Teaching
My teaching includes different theoretical and practical courses in animal morphology (external and internal) and soil biodiversity. The more I learned about different animal groups, the more I became fascinated with how they manage essential tasks like feeding, breathing or reproduction in distinct ways, and how they adapted to various habitats and/or situations. It is this fascination I hope to also spark in my students- not only by telling “hard facts”, but also by sharing personal experiences and stories from the research community.