Tuesday, February 14, 2012
7:30 PM
Of Martian ants and their asexual sisters
MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University
Christian Rabeling
Dr. Christian Rabeling, Harvard University Junior Fellow
Since the Mesozoic, ants evolved to become the most diverse, abundant and ecologically dominant group of social insects on earth. Recent advances in molecular and computational biology allowed for reconstructing the phylogenetic history of this fascinating group of organisms and for understanding their evolutionary biology. In this presentation, I will describe how the discovery of a single new species from the Amazon rainforest changed our understanding of ant evolution and what an asexually reproducing fungus-growing ant can teach us about the universality of sexual reproduction.
The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk (beginning at 6:15 PM) at the Harvard Law School cafeteria, on the second floor of the Caspersen Student Center.
CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:15 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.
Tuesday, February 8th, 2011
7:30 PM
Halictids as a Model of Social Evolution
MCZ 101, 26 Oxford Street, Harvard University
Sarah Kocher, Harvard University
The development of eusociality is considered to be a major transition in evolutionary history. Even Darwin noted the presence of sterile castes was “a special difficulty that was potentially fatal to the whole theory” of evolution. Previous studies on the evolution of social behavior have focused on species that have fixed social structure; however, because these species no longer exhibit variation in sociality, they provide limited models for discovering the factors that led to the evolution of social behavior. Halictid bees, on the other hand, provide an excellent study system. Different populations of a species can exhibit variation in social behavior that ranges from solitary to social. Dr Kocher will describe her research, which uses molecular and biogeographic approaches, studying the evolution of social behaviors in this remarkable family of bees.
The talk is free and open to the public. The meeting is readily accessible via public transportation. Parking is available in the Oxford Street Garage with advance arrangement, as described here, or (usually but not always) at spaces on nearby streets. Everyone is also welcome to join us for dinner before the talk ( beginning at 6:15 PM) at the Harvard Law School cafeteria, on the second floor of Harkness Commons.
CEC meetings are held the second Tuesday of the month from October through May. The evening schedule typically includes an informal dinner (6:15 to 7:15 PM) followed by our formal meeting (7:30 – 9:00 PM). The latter begins with club business and is followed by a 50 minute entomology related presentation. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists.
