Timing decisions in ant colonies: information management, social synchronization, and the determinants of task-related circadian patterns (C01)

• Subject Area: Sensory and Behavioural Biology
• Term: from 2013 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 208233609

The aims of this project are, first, to understand how endogenous, environmental and social factors interact to generate appropriate timing and synchronization of tasks in ant colonies, and second, to evaluate what are the benefits of proper timing of colony responses. In the second project period, we will build up on previous findings and focus on the triggers responsible for the behavioral transitions between tasks in ant colonies, and on the plasticity in task allocation, since timing of behavioral transitions does not only involve the change from nursing to foraging, but also the proper allocation of workers to specific colony tasks.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1047: Insect Timing: Mechanisms, Plasticity and Interactions
• Applicant Institution: Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg
• Project Head: Professor Dr. Flavio Roces