Research
I am interested in the evolutionary transition from simple to complex societies, particularly in the eusocial insects. My research focuses on the role of cooperation, conflict and group size in these transitions, as well as the causes and consequences of group-level phenotypes.
Collective Behavior
Many eusocial insects have the striking ability to self-organize and coordinate their actions without any centralized control. My research seeks to understand the mechanisms of communication and information flow that characterize such collective behaviors. Furthermore, my research aims to understand the ecological and social conditions under which self-organized behaviors evolve and become modified by natural selection.
Many eusocial insects have the striking ability to self-organize and coordinate their actions without any centralized control. My research seeks to understand the mechanisms of communication and information flow that characterize such collective behaviors. Furthermore, my research aims to understand the ecological and social conditions under which self-organized behaviors evolve and become modified by natural selection.
How do slave-making ant colonies decide where to raid?
I used the socially parasitic ant, Temnothorax americanus, as a model for collective decision-making. Colonies of this species launch highly coordinated attacks on heterospecific ant nests to steal the brood to populate their slave-worker force. For my dissertation, I focused on the mechanisms of communication during the decision over where to raid and examined how their unique ecology impacts this process. I showed that slave-maker colonies are confined to a narrow window of time to raid, and therefore tend to raid the first nests they find. How do slave-making colonies coordinate their attack during a raid? I observed that the there are two behavioral roles vital to a successful attack: (1) herding, where a slave-maker excites the residents and herds them towards the nest entrance, and (2) door-guards, who act as a filter by preventing resident ants carrying brood from exiting while allowing passage of unladen ants. I show that attack success depends on the temporal overlap of these roles, with greater coordination leading to more stolen brood. |
How does a forager assess the hunger level of her colony?
For my postdoc, I am investigating how ant colonies regulate their nutritional intake. By labeling food with a fluorescent dye, I am able to track the experience of individual foragers as they interact with colony members with known stomach contents. We can then understand what information they have when deciding whether to continue foraging. |
Colony Size
Researchers across levels of biological organization have independently observed that organizational complexity tends to increase as groups gets larger, suggesting that size plays a role in the elaboration of self-organized systems. Yet we still lack an understanding of the processes, both mechanistic and evolutionary, that lead to changes in colony organization.
Researchers across levels of biological organization have independently observed that organizational complexity tends to increase as groups gets larger, suggesting that size plays a role in the elaboration of self-organized systems. Yet we still lack an understanding of the processes, both mechanistic and evolutionary, that lead to changes in colony organization.
How does colony size influence nest architecture?
I investigated how the connectivity and modularity of subterranean ant nests changes with colony size. Using a comparative analysis, I show that species with large colony sizes have nests that are more modular, but not more interconnected, than species with small colony sizes. How does colony size affect information processing? Colony size likely affects the ways workers gather information about their colony's state. By comparing species that differ in their mature colony size, I study the strategies colonies use for assessing colony hunger. |
Social Evolution
Reproductive cooperation is a defining feature of eusociality, but there is enormous variation in the degree of cooperation among eusocial species. My research aims to explain that variation and understand the consequences of cooperation on measures of social complexity.
Reproductive cooperation is a defining feature of eusociality, but there is enormous variation in the degree of cooperation among eusocial species. My research aims to explain that variation and understand the consequences of cooperation on measures of social complexity.
How is cooperation maintained in queenless ant colonies lacking a dominance hierarchy?
During my dissertation, I studied how a system of plural breeding is maintained in the queenless ant, Ophthalmopone berthoudi. Uniquely, this species lacks apparent dominance hierarchies and tolerates multiple reproductives, sometimes up to half the colony. This project aimed to explain how the ecology of these ants results in a stable ‘anarchy.'
During my dissertation, I studied how a system of plural breeding is maintained in the queenless ant, Ophthalmopone berthoudi. Uniquely, this species lacks apparent dominance hierarchies and tolerates multiple reproductives, sometimes up to half the colony. This project aimed to explain how the ecology of these ants results in a stable ‘anarchy.'
What are the costs of group living?
My master's research in the Zink Lab focused on social behavior and parental care in a colonial earwig species (Anisolabis maritima). Unlike the eusocial insects, conflict dominates interactions between females, which nest in dense aggregations. Incubating mothers often invade a neighbor’s nest to snack on their young. As a consequence, nesting in high densities can lead to more energetically demanding nest defense and elevated filial cannibalism rates.
My master's research in the Zink Lab focused on social behavior and parental care in a colonial earwig species (Anisolabis maritima). Unlike the eusocial insects, conflict dominates interactions between females, which nest in dense aggregations. Incubating mothers often invade a neighbor’s nest to snack on their young. As a consequence, nesting in high densities can lead to more energetically demanding nest defense and elevated filial cannibalism rates.