REU: Spatial Position and Fitness: A Dynamic Optimization Model

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In nature, there are advantages of sociality (increased food gathering potential, protection from predators), yet there are also costs of the social environment (increased competition for food and/or space, potential for spread of parasites and diseases, increased visibility to predators). Not all animals within a colony or social group experience these benefits and/or costs equally. For example, animals on the edge of colonies may be at greater risk of predation from their natural enemies, while others in the center may face greater competition for food. Dr. Uetz's research is directed at understanding how animals make decisions (live alone or in a group; change location within a colony, etc.), and how the cumulative effects of those decisions affect survival and reproductive success. The studies concern spacing behavior, and how location of spiders within three- dimensional web colonies affects the balance between feeding success and predation risk. Using this information, Dr. Uetz will develop a mathematical model to predict the optimal decision-making strategies yielding the best chance of survival and reproductive success. The evolution of social behavior has received much attention, and scientists continue to examine the costs and benefits of group-living in light of natural selection theory. This topic arouses both interest and controversy, because of the diversity of social behaviors observed in animals, and because humans as well are social. This research will contribute to growing knowledge of how costs and benefits of behavioral strategies shape the evolution of animal societies, and also provide insight into how social behavior can evolve in typically asocial animals such as spiders.