Ximena Nelson University Of Canterbury

Qualifications & Memberships

  • Bachelor of Science (University of Canterbury)
  • Master of Science with Honours (University of Canterbury)
  • Doctor of Philosophy (University of Canterbury)
  • American Arachnological Society (Professional Organisation): Member
  • Australasian Society for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASSAB) (Professional Organisation): Councillor
  • Centre for the Integrative Study of Animal Behaviour (CISAB), Macquarie University (Teaching/Research Organisation): Post-Doctoral Fellow
  • Insect Vision Laboratory, University of Adelaide (Teaching/Research Organisation): Staff member
  • International Society for Neuroethology (Professional Organisation): Member
  • International Society of Arachnology (Professional Organisation): Member
  • Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society (Professional Organisation): Member

Research Interests

My primary research interests lie in animal behaviour and physiology. I am particularly interested in animal communication and animal cognition, as well as the manner in which animal sensory systems interact with behaviour to form the neuroethology of information processing and decision-making. 

For more information, please visit my personal webpage: 
http://ximenanelson.weebly.com/index.html



  • Jumping spider behaviour
  • Neural basis of information processing. Neuroethology of vision
  • Communication and cognition in birds
  • Mimicry and deceptive signals
  • Predator and prey assessment and behaviour

Recent Publications

  • Aguilar-Arguello S., Gerhard D. and Nelson XJ. (2020) Distance assessment of detours by jumping spiders.. Curr Zool 66(3): 263-273. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoz044.
  • Nelson X., Aguilar-Argüello S. and Jackson R. (2020) Widespread army ant aversion among East African jumping spiders (Salticidae). Journal of Ethology 38: 185-194. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10164-020-00639-1.
  • Aguilar-Argüello S., Gerhard D. and Nelson XJ. (2019) Risk assessment and the use of novel shortcuts in spatial detouring tasks in jumping spiders. Behavioral Ecology 30(5): 1488-1498. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arz105.
  • Bedoya CL., Brockerhoff EG., Hayes M., Pawson SM., Najar-Rodriguez A. and Nelson XJ. (2019) Acoustic communication of the red-haired bark beetle Hylurgus ligniperda. Physiological Entomology 44(3-4): 252-265. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/phen.12301.
  • Bedoya CL., Hofstetter RW., Nelson XJ., Hayes M., Miller DR. and Brockerhoff EG. (2019) Sound production in bark and ambrosia beetles. Bioacoustics http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09524622.2019.1686424.