The Daily Bulletin Archive

Please join the Biology Department for the seminar "Mutualism Ecology and Evolution: Insights from Ant-Plant Interactions," presented by Megan Frederickson, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto, on Tuesday, March 3, from 12:15 to 1:30 p.m. in Technology Building 160.

All faculty, staff, and students are welcome.

Seminar Abstract
Research in the Frederickson lab focuses on the ecology and evolution of mutualism, or cooperation between species. Mutualisms are extremely common in nature—so common, in fact, that every plant and animal on Earth may be involved in at least one mutualism. But cooperation is puzzling because it has the potential to be destabilized by selection for "cheating," or taking the benefits of cooperation without fully reciprocating. The evolution of mutualism is especially perplexing because partners do not share genes, precluding inclusive fitness benefits. The Frederickson lab uses a variety of approaches to study mutualisms involving insects (especially ants), plants, and microbes in both temperate and tropical ecosystems, to broadly characterize the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of mutualisms. I will describe our recent research on "cheating" in mutualisms, trade-offs between investing in multiple mutualisms (e.g., pollination and protection mutualisms), and the role of mutualism in facilitating biological invasions.