Dear colleagues,

a friendly reminder of this week’s Biology Thursday seminar, today at 12:15, live on site in room AT117, with

Dr. Julian Melgar, who is currently a visiting post doc here in Oulu, Ecology and Genetics unit, on

"Environmental harshness and the evolution of social complexity - a tale of ostriches and ants"

Abstract: The environment plays a critical role in the evolution of sociality. Harsh environments are believed to increase the benefits of living in a social, cooperative group.  However, in nature, there is a lot of variation in social complexity that cannot be explained by environmental factors. I this seminar, I will talk about my work on the social complexity of ostriches in the Karoo, a harsh Soth African semi-desert, and what it taught me about natural variation in social complexity. I will also talk about my future plans of using ants to disentangle the causal relationship between the environment and sociality.

https://portal.research.lu.se/en/persons/julian-melgar

Unfortunately I’m at home struck down by fever, but Philip Downing kindly promised to host the seminar!

Have a great seminar!

Heikki

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Heikki Helanterä

Professor

Ekologian ja genetiikan tutkimusyksikkö / Ecology and Genetics Research Unit

Oulun Yliopisto / University of Oulu / Finland

heikki.helantera@oulu.fi
+358-40-7507 334