The evolutionary ecology of personal and social immunity Event

I am primarily interested in the interactions between hosts and their parasites, and more specifically in the evolution of the immune system. For example, why don’t animals evolve to produce the most potent immune response to any invading parasite? Mounting an immune response is expensive in terms of resources that could be used for other things, like growth and reproduction. The field of ecological immunology examines the causes and consequences of variation in immune function in the context of evolution and ecology. I use a variety of insect models to address questions in this field.

In this talk I will present results from studies that consider the costs and benefits of both personal immunity (immune responses that benefit the individual) and social immunity (immune responses that benefit the group) and how these responses are affected by intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as age, reproductive, social and nutritional status, in two model systems, burying beetles and armyworm caterpillars.