INSSOCPLAS

Do nutritionally poor environments promote sociality? Testing a long-standing hypothesis in two socially plastic insect groups

Coordinatore	UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX    more  Organization address address: Sussex House city: FALMER, BRIGHTON postcode: BN1 9RH contact info Titolo: Ms. Nome: Tina Cognome: Lehmbeck Email: send email Telefono: +44 1273 877960 Fax: +44 1273 678192
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

#	participant	country	role	EC contrib. [€]
1	UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX  Organization address address: Sussex House city: FALMER, BRIGHTON postcode: BN1 9RH contact info Titolo: Ms. Nome: Tina Cognome: Lehmbeck Email: send email Telefono: +44 1273 877960 Fax: +44 1273 678192	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.