Luisa has been a student at Stellenbosch University since 2010. She completed her B.Sc in Biodiversity and Ecology in 2013 followed by an Honours degree in Biodiversity and Ecology in 2014. Her honours research was conducted as part of the Wossler Lab behavioural ecology group where she studied competition and resource partitioning between the invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema Humile) and the native dominant ant Anoplolepis custodiens.

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Luisa has extended her stay at the Woss Lab and is currently conducting research for her M.Sc (Zoology) project, under the supervision of Prof. Theresa Wossler and Prof. Cang Hui, where she studies vocal dialects in large assemblies of European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). The aim is to determine whether starlings share the same dialect within the populations in South Africa and how these compare to dialects found on a global scale. This bioacoustic research is a new undertaking in the lab and involves making field recordings and working with sound analysis software.

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Luisa’s research interests lie in Invasion biology, Bioacoustics and Ornithology. She is an avid bird watcher and enjoys fishing. She aims to complete a Master’s degree by 2017 and work for an Environmental Consulting Company in the future.