DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Metabolic and behavioral integration in social insect colonies

体型是决定单个动物生物学特性的最重要因素之一。与体型相关的特征包括寿命、新陈代谢和生长。尽管这些因素在从野外生态学到人类医学的各个领域都很重要，但科学家们还没有能够解释在自然界中产生这些模式的机制联系。最近的研究表明，大小不仅影响个体动物，还影响整个社会，如群居昆虫群落。本研究的中心焦点是检验行为组织影响蚁群内工作分配的假设，并导致代谢率随蚁群大小的异速缩放。两组实验将使验证这一假设成为可能，第一组是通过测量自然生长的菌落，第二组是通过人为控制菌落的大小。在这两组实验中，代谢率、网络连接模式和生长率将被测量，以发展一个关于大小如何影响整个群体能量学的综合视角。本研究将在少数族裔本科生的帮助下进行，他们都将有机会开发自己的独立项目，并在国家会议上发表。与亚利桑那州马里科帕县的埃斯特雷拉山地区公园合作，旨在教育和吸引公众对昆虫生物多样性感兴趣，该提案也将得到支持。

Size is among the most important factors in determining the biology of an individual animal. Characteristics that correlate with body size include lifespan, metabolism, and growth. Despite the significance of these factors for fields ranging from field ecology to human medicine, scientists have not yet been able to explain the mechanistic link that generates these patterns throughout nature. Recent studies have demonstrated that size not only affects individual animals, but also entire societies such as social insect colonies. The central focus of this study is to test the hypothesis that behavioral organization influences the distribution of work within colonies and results in the allometric scaling of metabolic rate with colony size. Two sets of experiments will make it possible to test this hypothesis, first by measuring colonies as they naturally grow and second by artificially manipulating colony size. In both sets of experiments, metabolic rates, patterns of network connectivity, and and growth rates will be measured to develop an integrative perspective on how size affects whole colony energetics. This research will be conducted with the help of undergraduate students from minority backgrounds all of whom will have the opportunity to develop their own independent projects to develop and present at national conferences. A collaboration with the Estrella Mountain Regional Park in Maricopa County, AZ designed to educate and engage the general public with an interest in insect biodiversity will also be supported by this proposal.