Plasticity and Constraint in Task Allocation: How and Why do Ants Choose Tasks-Nicole Leitner

Evolution, Ecology and Population Biology Seminar-Nicole Leitner, Washington University

“Plasticity and Constraint in Task Allocation:  How and Why do Ants Choose Tasks"

Ants are social insects that live together in colonies and divide work among themselves to meet all of the colony's needs. How individual ant workers come to be allocated to different tasks is not well understood. This talk explores both the individual-level mechanisms by which workers choose tasks and the colony-level strategies for responding dynamically to changes in task need.