Research

Current Research

Evolution of defense mechanisms in social insects

Cornell University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Organisms often deploy a suite of defense mechanisms tailored to different types of threats, but how do social insects use behavior to implement these strategies across varying ecological contexts? This project uses Polistes dominula to investigate how both individuals and colonies respond to distinct enemy encounters. Through controlled behavioral experiments, we quantify the deployment of defense behaviors to understand how P. dominula recognize and respond effectively to diverse threats.

We also ask, what are the genomic underpinnings of the plastic defensive responses we see in behavior? By pairing behavioral assays with post-encounter gene-expression analysis, we examine how experiences with different threats leads to distinct genomic responses in the head tissue. Together, these data reveal how social wasps integrate external cues to modulate their defensive strategies.

P. dominula nest reared in the lab using colored construction paper. Individuals are marked with unique color codes for behavioral experiments.

Undergraduate student researchers

This project has been strengthened by the efforts of undergraduate researchers at Cornell, Asha Gandreti and Patrick Salinas. Their careful work has made it possible to generate a detailed dataset of colony-level and individual-level behavioral responses using behavioral observation software.

Asha Gandreti

Cornell University

Patrick Salinas

Cornell University

Past Research

Shaping UV defenses: Maternal effects on sea urchin embryos

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, Department of Biological Sciences

As part of my undergraduate and master's research, I worked at Cal Poly's Center for Coastal Marine Sciences advised by Dr. Nikki Adams. My research investigated how maternal investment causes differences in UV-tolerance of intertidal and subtidal populations of purple sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus). I used a proteomic approach to assess differences in protein abundance between eggs from different tidal sites to understand how protein variation invested maternally through eggs provides embryos with a rapid response to UV-stress during early development. We identified a range of candidate proteins involved in various cellular processes such as cell cycle regulation, signaling and transport, oxidative stress and metabolism that may help developing embryos cope with UVR stress.

Photo by Angel Trejo

Understanding bottlenose dolphin cognition and communication

Walt Disney World Resort and New College of Florida

I worked at Walt Disney World as an Aquatic Research Professional Intern under Dr. Andy Stamper, focusing on a long-term dolphin cognition and communication research project led by Dr. Heidi Harley from New College of Florida (NCF). I conducted daily research trials, analyzed behavioral and acoustic data, and communicated findings to Disney guests. After my internship I continued working at Disney as a lab technician through NCF, now focused on leading a project to build a vocalization repertoire to better understand how dolphins communicate with each other.

Testing new equipment to measure coral while being interrupted by a friendly sea turtle. (Video by Alaine Ibarreche)

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