Ants, Bees, Genomes & Evolution @ Queen Mary University London

Brazil! IUSSI symposium on the evolution of social organization

Join us in Guarujá!

We (Emeline, Carlos & Yannick) are excited to host a symposium on the evolution of social organisation at the upcoming IUSSI conference.

We welcome a diversity of approaches and study systems. If you’re unsure about the relevance of your work, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Full symposium title and abstract below:

Evolution of social organization

How an insect society is organized varies tremendously between but also within species and populations. Such diversity includes variation in numbers of reproductive individuals, modes of reproduction and of dispersal, relationships with neighboring colonies, degrees of morphological and behavioral caste specialization, and interactions (mutualistic, parasitic, predatory…) with closely or distantly related species.

Understanding how and when changes in social lifestyle occur is central to the study of social evolution. More specifically, can we measure the evolutionary pressures involved in changes of social organisation? Are particular ecological conditions involved? Can molecular, genetic or physiological features constrain or facilitate social evolution? What are the effects of a change in social interactions on how natural selection can act?

Encompassing the complexities of such multifaceted topics requires interdisciplinary discussion. This symposium will thus include both theoretical and empirical research addressing the topic from a variety of scales and angles.


February 15, 2018