Chiara Piraino

  Faculty of Science and Engineering | Bachelor Maastricht Science Programme

"A study on modes of aquatic locomotion: how speed varies among and within Niphargus species"

Chiara's elevator pitch
"During my thesis, I studied the speed of locomotion of the amphipod genus Niphargus. I compared the velocity at which three Niphargus species walked, crawled or swam, to discover if these speeds differed significantly between the three species and/or between individuals of the same species. To accomplish this, I created an experimental set up which allowed me to record each individual's path and velocity in 3D. My bachelor thesis was incredibly exciting as I worked along with the Subterranean Biology Lab at University of Ljubljana, and conducted my thesis at the Jovan Hadži Institute of Biology, using Noldus IT video tracking software.”