Learn about how research in the Hebets Lab uncovered the remarkable ability of breathing under water in arachnids from the Florida Keys; described how and why males of one species of fishing spider sacrifice themselves in the name of love; and verified the importance of enormous eyes in spiders with an unusual hunting strategy, among others.
Adventure
Live vicariously through the adventures of the Hebets Lab; from Costa Rica, to Australia, to the Florida Keys and just about everywhere in between.
Research
Explore the fascinating world of animal communication through the sensory system of arachnids and learn about some unusual behavioral strategies that arachnids employ during foraging, mating, and navigation.
Memories
The Hebets Lab is synonymous with FUN! Check our annual pumpkin carving party, our annual white elephant holiday party, and the numerous, numerous lab lunches and happy hours.
Engagement
Find out about the numerous ways in which our laboratory engages the community in science and scientific education, including summer camps, after-school science programs, events hosted through the Nebraska State Natural History Museum and other community partners, and most importantly, Eight-Legged Encounters.
Success
Curiosity, ambition, tenacity, passion, enthusiasm, creativity, kindness, hard-work and teamwork are all ingredients in the recipe for success… and Hebets Lab members have these in abundance.
We are extremely interested in how and why arachnids display such a diversity of mating systems. To this end, we seek to better understand the costs and benefits of seemingly odd mating strategies.
All animals depend on sensory systems to gather and process environmental information integral to their success. We use various arachnids to investigate the form and function of different sensory systems.
We aim to understand the evolution and function of signal diversity associated with communication systems, mostly focusing on intra-specific communication relating to reproductive behavior.
Engagement
ENGAGEMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY
Summer
Camps
CONTINUE THE JOURNEY
ENGAGEMENT IN OUR COMMUNITY
Eight-Legged
Encounters
WATCH THE VIDEO
Adventure
Most member of the Hebets Lab incorporate some aspect of field work into their research, take a look!
Jay Stafstromstarted a postdoctoral research fellowship in Australia. He received an Endeavor Fellowship to work with Michael Kasumovic at the University of New South Wales!
Alissa Anderson had a baby!!! Welcome to the Hebets Lab baby Olive.
Rowan McGinleyrecorded behavioral data from >12 species of Schizocosa wolf spider since March, 2017.
Alissa Anderson was awarded a Maude Hammong Fling Fellowship from UNL, providing her a year free of teaching! (2017 – 2018)
Jay Stafstrom was awarded the Harold Winfred Manter Award! (2017)
Noori Choi, 1st year PhD student received a SBS Special Funds grant, an Animal Behavior Society Research Grant, and an American Arachnological Society Research Grant! (2017)
Marie-Claire Chelini successfully defended her PhD and moved to UC Merced for a post-doctoral fellowship. (2016)
Jay Stafstrom won 1st place in the Founder Award poster competition at the Animal Behavior Society Annual Meetings. (2016)
Alissa Anderson won second place in the student oral presentation competition for Ecology and Behavior at the International Arachnological Congress in Golden, CO! (2016)
Eileen Hebets was elected as the new American Arachnological Society Director.
Tyler Corey and Matt Wilkin’s ‘pygids’ video won first place in the film festival at the International Arachnological Congress.
Rowan McGinleywill continue on as a post-doctoral researcher in the Hebets Lab starting July 1 st 2016 thanks to NSF funding.
Tyler Corey and Matt Wilkins won the film festival at the Evolution meetings with their film about amblypygids (summer 2016).
Marie-Claire Chelinigot her second chapter accepted for publication in Animal Behavior and turned in all four chapters of her dissertation (spring 2016).
Eileen Hebetsand her NESCent colleagues finally got their “systems approach” paper accepted and published in Proc. B (spring 2016).
Jay Stafstrom got the cover of Biology Letters, and a LOT of press coverage, for his first chapter (spring 2016).
Alissa Anderson published her first chapter in Biology Letters and her work was highlighted in the New York Times (along with a zillion other news outlets) (2016).
Jay Stafstrom won first place in the student poster competition at the 38 th annual Biology Graduate Student Association Symposium (spring 2016).
Following an invitation by NSF, most of the Hebets Lab (and colleagues from across the country) traveled to Washington DC to put on a mini Eight-Legged Encounters for the USA Science and Engineering Festival…it was AMAZING!!!
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