Research

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Nutritional ecology of social insects

A big question about insect societies is how they come to be some of the most diverse and abundant organisms in terrestrial habitats. It has been hypothesized that  their association with microorganisms have allowed them to explore “unusual” resources and, therefore, expand the niches that they can occupy. Some examples of the interaction between unusual resources and symbiotic microorganisms are: (1) the use of plant matter by leaf-cutter ants and some termites, that depend on the aid of their domesticated fungal partner; (2) although being unable to break down uric acid, some ants will readily consume bird excrete which can only be digested with the aid of their symbiotic bacterial partners; (3) the honey bee and other social bees depend on symbiotic microorganisms to keep their hive healthy and their food storage protected from quickly getting spoiled;

During my PhD I have focused on answering specifically:

  • What role is played by gut communities of herbivore ants?
    • Nutritional upgrade and digestive capabilities
    • Fitness benefits and costs of harboring symbionts
  • How do social insect maintain their association with gut symbionts over evolutionary time? (bees and ants)
    • mechanisms for transmission of beneficial microorganisms over generations
    • mechanisms for maintenance of the association during the insect life cycle
    • Identification and characterization of behaviors and morphological adaptations that are associated with niche specialization and beneficial associations with microorganisms

Social behavior and insect cognition

In addition to nutritional ecology of social insects, I have a great interest in understanding how colonies of social insects work. Despite their tiny mini-brains, social insects work both individually and in concert as a group, resulting in highly successful strategies for colony survival and reproduction through an impressive diverse and complex number of behaviors.

Specifically, I am interested in (1) how workers tell each other apart in the colony-level, a phenomenon known as nestmate-recognition; and (2) how the “GPS” of social insects work, i.e., how are insects such as ants able to travel long distances looking for food, sometimes through completely new, maze-like environments, and then return successfully to their point of origin – their nest.