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Thermal Biology & Evolution of Bush Crickets in Anatolia

Focus Group: Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera)

This research focuses on the complex relationship between environmental gradients and phenotypic traits in montane ecosystems. A primary focus is the thermal melanism hypothesis and countergradient selection in the color-polymorphic bush cricket, Isophya rizeensis.

  • Color Polymorphism & Altitude: Investigating why melanic (darker) morphs in this species decrease with elevation—a finding that challenges traditional thermal melanism theories.

  • Behavioral Thermoregulation: Testing how high-altitude populations adapt their thermal preferences to compensate for shorter growing seasons.

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Ecophysiology & Climate Impacts on Lizards

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Focus group: Lacertid lizards

 

I study how sympatric lizard species partition their thermal niche and how future climate scenarios may threaten Mediterranean reptiles. This work bridges the gap between individual physiological limits and population-level distribution shifts.

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  • Sympatric Dynamics: Comparing thermal behavior and body size constraints between lacertid lizards in Western Anatolia.

  • Climate Resilience: Using historical data, ecophysiology and future projections to model the impact of climate change on the survival and range of Mediterranean lizards.

Ecological Niche Modeling of Disease Vectors

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   Focus Group: Ixodid Ticks

  • Utilizing Ecological Niche Modeling (ENM) to address public health concerns. By predicting the movement of disease-carrying ticks, I aim to provide insights into the future geography of tick-borne diseases like CCHF and Lyme borreliosis.

  • Microclimate Integration: Moving beyond macroclimate datasets to integrate microclimatic factors, providing more accurate predictions for ground-dwelling vectors.

  • Climate-Driven Shifts: Modeling how ticks are expanding into Central and Northern Europe due to warming trends.

  • Methodological Accuracy: Refining ENM techniques (Maxent) to improve the reliability of species distribution models under various SSP climate scenarios.

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