Social Systems Biology

Abstract

The evolution of sociality represented one of the major transition points in evolutionary history. We are interested in understanding how evolutionary processes affect social systems and how sociality, in turn, affects the course of evolution. The subjects of our research are the social insects, which include ants, termites, social bees, and social wasps. Our research focuses on understanding the social structure and mating biology of social insects. In addition, we are interested in the process of development and morphological evolution in the context of sociality. In order to address these issues, we make use of a variety of techniques, including computer simulations, analytical theory, field studies, and laboratory experiments, as well as molecular genetic and genomic analyses.