Elizabeth M. Jakob

Elizabeth M. Jakob is a Professor in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She specializes in behavioral ecology, focusing on spiders to investigate learning, group living evolution, and invasive species behavior. Her office is located at 109 Middlesex, and she oversees a lab (website linked).

Education:

• B.S., Cornell University, 1983
• Ph.D., University of California Davis (Animal Behavior), 1989

Research Interests: Dr. Jakob’s work bridges animal behavior and evolutionary biology. She explores how learning shapes spider behavior, the adaptive advantages of sociality in spiders, and behavioral mechanisms enabling invasive species success. Her interdisciplinary approach integrates field studies and experimental methods.

Labs/Teams: Maintains an active research lab (website not fully specified in text) with ongoing projects on spider behavior and ecological dynamics.