Arthropod acoustic communication is a primary focus at the Patek Lab. Here you can find our acoustically oriented research projects along with sounds and video of spiny lobsters (Palinuridae) and mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda).
Patek Lab Members
Active Lab Members
Position: Principal Investigator/ Assistant Professor
Lab Member Since: 2004
Lab Member Since: 2004
Patek received her A.B. with honors in Biology from Harvard University followed by a Ph.D. in Biology from Duke University. She was then awarded a Miller Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Berkeley. She has received several honors, including the George A. Bartholomew Award for distinguished contributions to comparative physiology, a Radcliffe Fellowship, and the Brilliant 10 award from Popular Science magazine. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, Hellman Family Foundation, Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and others.
Position: Graduate student (UC Berkeley)
Lab Member Since: 2005
Lab Member Since: 2005
deVries is fascinated by the evolution of prey capture in mantis shrimp. The main goals of her research are to figure out what mantis shrimp actually eat with their raptorial appendages and to understand how raptorial appendage morphology relates to mantis shrimp diet. deVries received her B.S. with high honors in Evolution and Ecology from UC Davis and is now working to complete her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley.
Position: Graduate Student
Lab Member Since: 2008
Lab Member Since: 2008
While an undergraduate at the University of California, Berkeley, my fascination with biomechanics grew not only through classes involving the motor control, but by being an integral part of the Cal archery coaching staff as well. After graduating from Cal in 2009 with a B.A. in Integrative Biology, I enrolled in the University of Massachusetts as a NEAGEP intern. Currently, I am a Ph.D. student in the department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and am working on a project which involves using finite element analysis to learn more about the energy storage and deformation of mantis shrimp appendages. Also, I'm an active member in SOURCE (Studying, Originating, and Understanding R Coding Executables) and always ready for an R discussion.
Position: Graduate Student
Lab Member Since: 2011
Lab Member Since: 2011
Patrick earned his B.S. in Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution at UCLA in 2009. After a year's break, he returned to his alma mater as a Teaching Assistant for EBE courses and a Research Assistant in the the lab of Dr. Blaire Van Valkenburgh. His past research projects have included examining bird call responses to tourist presence in Uganda, studying barnacle glycoprotien function in Malibu, CA, and most recently quantifying the surface area of nasal turbinate bones in the family Canidae. As a new PhD student in the Patek Lab, he plans to integrate biomechanics, behavior, and conservation to describe the use of the mantis shrimp appendage in competition between species
Position: BURA Student (Aquarium and Animal Husbandry)
Lab Member Since: 2011
Lab Member Since: 2011
I am currently a sophomore and pursuing a B.S. degree in Natural Resources Conservation, with a concentration in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. I haven't had much experience in the wildlife field, except for working last summer for the Delaware Shorebird Project and currently in the Patek lab performing animal care and husbandry with mantis shrimp. I am eager to learn about mantis shrimp because I hope to gain a career in the marine field in my future.
Position: BURA Student (Shape and Evolution of a Biological Shield)
Lab Member Since: 2010
Lab Member Since: 2010
I am excited to be back for my second year in the Patek lab. I am a senior undergraduate studying for my B.S. in Biology. I have always been more drawn to OEB so I am thrilled to be able to work in the field as an undergrad. I will be continuing my research on the evolution and morphology of mantis shrimp telsons, focusing on further analyzing data collected last semester, culminating in a paper for publication.
Position: Biology Research Apprentice
Lab Member Since: 2012
Lab Member Since: 2012
Nicholas is a microbiology major with a hobby in taking care of saltwater species and coral life. This hobby led to his interest in the mantis shrimp, which he hopes to learn more about while at Patek labs.
Position: Biology Research Apprentice
Lab Member Since: 2012
Lab Member Since: 2012
As a biology-major sophomore, I joined this lab for the purpose of getting a non-lecture biology experience. Having come from a land-locked country three years ago, the mantis shrimp I'll be taking care of seem to notice there's a new guy in their territory. I'm also doing research in a Bio-chem lab on Arabidopsis plants. My goal is to understand life better, and under the guidance of my senior patek-lab members, the possibility starts here. True enough, in just a few days of my membership, I already feel a part of something big.
Always Looking Forward...
Position: Biology Research Apprentice
Lab Member Since: 2012
Lab Member Since: 2012
Mike is a Junior and a Biology major who is most interested in Biomechanical Engineering and Biomimetics. He is doing work analyzing and modeling the Mantis Shrimp strike mechanically.
Lab Alumni
Current Position: Graduate Student, University of Southern California
UC Berkeley Bioengineering, class of 2009
Current Position: Graduate student, Harvard University
UC Berkeley Integrative Biology and Physics class of 2008
Current Position: Graduate student, Scripps Institute of Oceanography
UC Berkeley Integrative Biology class of 2006
Current Position: Graduate student, University of Washington
UC Berkeley Chemical Engineering class of 2004
Current Position: Graduate student, University of Southern California
UC Berkeley Integrative Biology class of 2005
