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I am currently working on my Ph.D. studying mechanisms of organization in social insects with Dr. Anna Dornhaus. Specifically, I measure how individuals divide space inside the nest, and how that, along with dominance interactions and worker variation, affects division of labor. My research currently focuses on bumblebees (Bombus impatiens, shown below). In general, I am interested to see how individual differences, no matter how slight, can affect the overall performance of a complex system. I came to Tucson from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a Master’s degree in Entomology. While there, I studied foraging behavior and communication among social yellowjacket wasps. The picture to the right shows me dismantling a structure that my yellowjacket colony had built outside of their artificial nest entrance. Cooperation & Superheroes Bees, wasps, ants, termites, the occasional aphid & beetle, and those adorable naked mole rats figured out something pretty amazing when they decided to stay at home and help raise their siblings instead of venture out into the unknown to start their own family. The level of cooperation between individuals in a social group can range from the occasional sharing of food and help with cleaning the nest, to complete sterilization of siblings who can offer nothing to the next generation aside from their ability to serve and protect the colony. These superhero 'soldiers' might emerge as adults with super strength, an impenetrable shield, or toxic venom they can use to paralyze or destroy unwanted intruders. It's no wonder that comic book geniuses like Stan Lee come up with such amazing characters when a whole world of superheroes with such a wide-range of superpowers actually exist all around us. You don't even need to be super to see them either! Publications
Contact Info Jennifer
Jandt Last
updated: January 9, 2006 |
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