Cognitive ecology of sociability and aggression

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Our cognitive ecology research focuses on answering two major questions, what are the ecological and evolutionary factors that determine animals' cognitive traits? And how do animals' cognitive abilities affect their ecology and evolution? Our short-term objectives are to answer the following questions: 1. What are the genetic and neurobiological mechanisms, and the cognitive and behavioural traits that mediate sociability, and how does sociability affect fitness? 2. What are the neurogenetic mechanisms and cognitive and behavioural features that underlie males' sexual aggression towards females? 3. What are the genetic and behavioral mechanisms and life history trade-offs associated with perseverance, defined as persistence in a course of action despite difficulty or with little or no indication of success? First, we will artificially select replicate populations of sociable and non-sociable fruit flies. We will then conduct genetic sequencing to determine the genome-level responses to selection on sociability, and use the evolved populations for comparing sociable and non-sociable fruit flies in cognitive and behavioural traits as well as fitness. Second, we have recently quantified new forms and functions of aggression in fruit flies including courtship interference, mate guarding and sexual aggression. To understand the genetic, cognitive and behavioural factors that determine males' sexual aggression, we will evolve via artificial selection lineages of males that either do or do not forcibly copulate. We will then assess the genetics of sexual aggression and compare the lineages in cognitive and behavioural traits and fitness. Finally, two of our recent research projects, one focussing on expertise and the other on sexual aggression have led us to explore perseverance, defined as persistence in a course of action despite difficulty or with little or no indication of success. We will evolve via artificial selection lineages of flies with high and low perseverance and then analyse their genetics and phenotypic properties. Sociability, sexual aggression and perseverance are features relevant to most animals including humans. Hence, our research will contribute to basic scientific knowledge on these important topics that influence animal ecology and evolutionary biology as well as human societies. Our work can have direct implications for human health and well being because the genetic and neurobiological mechanisms of cognitive and behavioural traits are highly conserved among species. For example, recent work on social deficiencies in fruit flies currently guides research on autism in humans.