The colony ontogeny

• Applicant: Dr. Luisa Maria Jaimes Nino
• Subject Area: Evolutionary Cell and Developmental Biology (Zoology)
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 537091901

The timing of growth, reproduction and dispersal are crucial decisions for organisms, and the resource allocation into each function can be traded off with other processes. Growth rates and optimal life cycles are often based on reaction norms. This project brings in a unique angle on reaction norms through the opportunities presented by growth, reproduction and dispersal of individuals, as well as groups of multiple individuals (colonies), in a eusocial species. While the life histories of multicellular, unitary organisms are extensively studied with respect to timing of maturity and determinate vs indeterminate growth, it is less clear whether the theory applies straightforwardly to superorganisms formed by eusocial colonies, whether observations fit the expected patterns based on optimization of growth and time of reproduction, and whether the unique aspects of superorganisms (e.g., multiple queens presence) alter the theoretical expectations. This project examines the factors that determine allocation dynamics of insect societies, including reproductive skew and dispersal in colonies with queens of different ages. Ultimately, it investigates theoretically and empirically the impact of the age-structure on the reaction norms throughout the colony ontogeny.

• DFG Programme: WBP Position