Postgraduates

> Chris Koh
> Eunice Tan
> Jeremy Woon
> Laura Yap
> Matthew Lim Lek Min

Matthew Lim Lek Min, PhD Student
Contact Details

Dept of Biological Sciences
National University of Singapore
14 Science Drive 4
Singapore 117543
Tel:+65 65164372
Fax:+65 7792486
Phone:+65 65162704/2715
Email: dbsllmm@nus.edu.sg


Academic history

I graduated from National University of Singapore (NUS) with a 2nd class honours (June 2001), having worked on the mechanical properties of spider silk for my honours project under the supervision of Assoc. Prof Li Daiqin (Department of Biological Sciences, NUS) and Dr Zeng Kaiyang (Institute of Materials Research and Engineering, Singapore). My PhD project investigates the functional significance of UV colours and vision in jumping spiders: Ultraviolet (UV) vision in jumping spiders: sexual selection and foraging behaviour.


Research interests

Although UV vision is known to affect the active foraging behaviour of jumping spiders, the significance of salticid UV hue and UV-sensitive photoreceptors in intraspecific communication, in general, has not received much attention. Spectrophotometry techniques have however revealed UV-reflective capabilities in several tropical salticid species, with at least one local jumping spider known to exhibit extreme sexual UV colour dimorphism. It is therefore of great interest to examine the functional significance of UV cues and environmental UV light during male competition and female mate choice, and on other salticid species that harbour UV colours. Other areas of interest include the specific mechanisms that facilitate UV reflection in jumping spiders, and identifying possible factors that may affect salticid UV colours.

See also Conservation Behavioural Ecology Lab


Selected Publications

  1. Lim, M. L. M., M. F. Land, and D. Q. Li. 2007. Sex-specific UV and fluorescence signals in jumping spiders. Science 315:481.

  2. Lim, M. L. M., and D. Q. Li. 2007. Effects of age and feeding history on structure-based UV ornaments of a jumping spider (Araneae: Salticidae). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 274:569-575.

  3. Lim, M. L. M., and D. Q. Li. 2006. Behavioural evidence of UV sensitivity in jumping spiders (Araneae : Salticidae). Journal of Comparative Physiology a-Neuroethology Sensory Neural and Behavioral Physiology 192:871-878.

  4. Lim, M. L. M., and D. Q. Li. 2006. Extreme ultraviolet sexual dimorphism in jumping spiders (Araneae : Salticidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 89:397-406.

  5. Li, D. Q., and M. L. M. Lim. 2005. Ultraviolet cues affect the foraging behaviour of jumping spiders. Animal Behaviour 70:771-776.

  6. Lim, M. L. M., and D. Q. Li. 2004. Courtship and male-male agonistic behaviour of Cosmophasis umbratica Simon, an ornate jumping spider (Araneae: Salticidae) from Singapore. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 52:435-448.


Conferences

  1. Lim, M. L. M. & Li, D. 2002. Interspecific, intraspecific and intraindividual variations in the mechanical properties of spider silksî. Structural Biology and Functional Genomics Conference. National University of Singapore. Poster presentation.

  2. Lim, M. L. M. & Li, D. 2003. UV colorations in a jumping spiderî. Graduate Congress. National University of Singapore. Oral presentation.

  3. Lim, M. L. M. & Li, D. 2004. Extreme ultraviolet sexual dimorphism in jumping spidersî. International Congress of Arachnology, Ghent University, Belgium. Oral presentation.

  4. Lim, M. L. M. & Li, D. 2004. Making sense of UV and scales: The invisible colours of a jumping spiderî. Biology in Asia, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Poster presentation.


The usual suspects:” Do you see what I see?”