DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Metabolic and behavioral integration in social insect colonies

体型是决定单个动物生物学的最重要因素之一。与身体大小相关的特征包括寿命、新陈代谢和生长。尽管这些因素对从田野生态学到人类医学的各个领域都很重要，但科学家们还无法解释在整个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，如群居昆虫群体。这项研究的中心焦点是检验这一假设，即行为组织影响群体内的工作分配，并导致代谢率随群体大小的异速增长。两组实验将使检验这一假设成为可能，第一组是通过测量自然生长的菌落，第二组是通过人工操纵菌落大小。在这两组实验中，将测量代谢率、网络连接模式和生长速度，以开发关于规模如何影响整个群体能量学的综合视角。这项研究将在少数族裔背景的本科生的帮助下进行，他们都将有机会制定自己的独立项目，并在全国会议上发表讲话。这项提议还将支持与亚利桑那州马里科帕县埃斯特雷拉山地区公园的合作，旨在教育和吸引公众对昆虫生物多样性感兴趣。

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.