Modelling collective behaviour to protect social insect ecosystem services
About the project
Fundamental to the adaptability of social insects to environmental stress are the complex mechanisms that allow colonies to maintain a carefully balanced division of labour (DOL).
The project builds on evolutionary game theory and reinforcement learning to develop a new approach for analysing how environmental factors such as climate change and pollution impact DOL in insect colonies and thereby their viability. Our work combines mathematical models and computer simulations along with biological experiments in both the lab and field.
Researchers involved
Project partners
- Associate Professor Martin Burd, Monash Faculty of Science
- Professor Dr Arne Traulsen, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
- Dr Joachim Offenberg, University Aarhus
- Dr Chris Reid, Macquarie University
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