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I am interested in the behavior and organization of social insect colonies.
These studies involve questions of pattern, mechanism, and evolution. My
dissertation research was a study of colony demography and division of labor
in
the fungus gardening ant Trachymyrmex septentrionalis. This study combined
the
perspectives of ergonomics and life history theory with ethological analysis
of
individual task performance and division of labor. I have studied the role of juvenile hormone in the regulation of
division of labor in the carpenter ant Camponotus pennsylvanicus.
Currently I am developing simulations of a "response threshold" model of division of labor and am beginning experimental studies with leaf-cutting ants of the genus Atta.
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