Welcome to the Alhajeri Lab
Bader H. Alhajeri's research group is located at the Department of Biological Sciences at Kuwait University. The research group specializes in mammalian evolutionary ecology, and most research revolves around the biological causes of morphological variation, both within and among species. Lab research focuses heavily on geometric morphometrics, with reoccurring research themes includes ecological, spatial, and phylogenetic causes of cranial and mandibular variation. Rodents are the most commonly studied taxa in the lab, which are the most diverse order of mammals with >2,300 species. We particularly focus on arid-adapted rodents such Gerbillinae, a murid subfamily with ~110 species of gerbils and relatives. The extreme diversity in rodents, combined with their high morphological variability, make them especially amenable to morphological studies. You can find publications associated with the lab here.
How is research done?
Most of the lab's research is based on images of skulls of voucher specimens housed at natural history museums. Morphological data is extracted from these images, mostly using geometric morphometric approaches. This morphological data is then used to address the research question(s) of interest using statistical methods (mostly in R), such as determining the association between morphological variation and variation in geographic location, ecological attributes, evolutionary history, and other extrinsic and intrinsic factors. More information about the lab's research focus can be found here.
Research collaboration
I welcome collaboration with researchers broadly interested in similar research themes. Collaborations need not involve rodents. Thanks for visiting!