INSSOCPLAS
Do nutritionally poor environments promote sociality? Testing a long-standing hypothesis in two socially plastic insect groups
| Coordinatore | UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX
Organization address
address: Sussex House contact info |
| Nazionalità Coordinatore | United Kingdom [UK] |
| Totale costo | 282˙786 € |
| EC contributo | 282˙786 € |
| Programma | FP7-PEOPLE
Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013) |
| Code Call | FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IOF |
| Funding Scheme | MC-IOF |
| Anno di inizio | 2012 |
| Periodo (anno-mese-giorno) | 2012-05-01 - 2015-04-30 |
Partecipanti
| # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX
Organization address
address: Sussex House contact info |
UK (FALMER, BRIGHTON) | coordinator | 282˙786.90 |
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Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)
'Why individuals cooperate is an evolutionary puzzle. One longstanding theory is that nutritionally poor environments reduce individuals’ chances of breeding independently, forcing cooperation with other individuals. The proposed project will focus on testing this in the field, using socially plastic species - insects that can be social or solitary: Acacia thrips (Thysanoptera) and Halictine bees (Hymenoptera). Working with Stephen Simpson at the University of Sydney, a pioneer in nutritional approaches to ecological questions, and Jeremy Field, at the University of Sussex, a world leader in social evolution research, in field populations of both insect groups I will test firstly whether social behaviour occurs more often on nutritionally imbalanced food plants, and secondly whether experimentally imbalancing the nutritional composition of food causes previously independent breeders to decide instead to cooperate. If successful, this will open up a paradigm that has been theorized but never rigorously tested, representing a major contribution to social biology.'
Introduzione (Teaser)
Researchers are investigating the role nutrition might play in determining an organism's choice to work with other group members or to remain solitary.