Boston University Department of Biology

Faculty Profiles

Current Research

Insects have evolved complex and diverse societies. We study the ecological factors that have influenced the genetics of colonies and populations, the behavioral mechanisms of cooperation, and the neural basis of social behavior. Current emphasis is on the evolution and ecology of caste and division of labor, behavioral specialization and mosaic brain evolution in ants. Darwin’s sense of wonder was excited by the ant brain’s capability of “extraordinary mental activity with an extremely small absolute mass of nervous matter.”  We feel the same way. We study the comparative evolutionary neuroanatomy and neurochemistry of polyethism, using immunohistochemistry, confocal microscopy, neurohistology, and image analysis to quantify age- and size-related changes in the compartments of the brain that control social behavior. We employ HPLC to examine the regulation of caste-specific task performance and behavioral development by biogenic amines. Our integrative studies connect sociobiology, ecology, and neurobiology to understand the selective forces that lead to the evolution of brain structure and how a miniscule brain meets the demands of processing complex information at the level of the individual and society as a whole. Research centers on the hyperdiverse ant genus Pheidole and the leaf-cutter ants. We are also interested in the evolution of disease resistance and tropical ant diversity, behavior and ecology.

Courses Taught

• BI 107 Introductory Biology I
• BI 119 Sociobiology
• BI 224 Seminar in Behavioral Biology

Selected Publications

• Muscedere ML, Johnson N, Kamhi JF, Gillis BC, Traniello JFA (2011). Serotonin modulates worker responsiveness to trail pheromone in the ant Pheidole dentata. J. Comp. Physiol., DOI 10.1007/s00359-011-0701-2
• Muscedere ML, Traniello JFA, Gronenberg W (2011). Coming of age in an ant colony: cephalic muscle maturation accompanies behavioral development in Pheidole dentata. Naturwissenschaften 98: 783-793.
• Mertl AL, Sorenson M, Traniello JFA. (2010). Interspecific variation and ecological correlates in the hyperdiverse ground-foraging Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) community of Amazonian Ecuador. Insectes Sociaux 57: 441-452.
• Muscedere ML, Wiley T, Traniello JFA (2009). Age and task efficiency in the ant Pheidole dentata: young minor workers are not specialist nurses. Animal Behaviour, 77: 911-918.
• Mertl AL, Traniello JFA (2009). Behavioral evolution in the major worker subcaste of twig-nesting Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): does morphological specialization influence task plasticity? Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 63:1411-1426.
• Seid M, Li C, Goode K., Traniello JFA (2008). Age- and subcaste -related patterns of serotonergic immunoreactivity in the optic lobes of the ant Pheidole dentata. Developmental Neurobiology 68:1325-1333.
• Seid M, Traniello JFA (2006). Age-related repertoire expansion and division of labor in Pheidole dentata (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a new perspective on temporal polyethism and behavioral plasticity in ants. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 60, 631-644.
• Seid M, Harris K, Traniello JFA (2005). Age-related changes in the number and structure of synapses in the lip region of the ant Pheidole dentata.  Journal of Comparative Neurology 488, 269-277.