Mutualism: What Do We Know, and Where Do We Go From Here?

Abstract:
In this talk, I review the history of the study of mutualism (cooperation among different species), a field that has only coalesced in the past twenty years. I will identify six major research directions. I will then present our own recent work on one moth pollination mutualism to show how these directions can be integrated to move our understanding forward. This is a particularly intriguing interaction because it appears to be exceedingly costly (the offspring of the pollinator moths are voracious herbivores on the same plants), making it an ideal test case for testing our understanding of how mutualisms arise and when they can persist. I conclude by discussing a few pressing issues surrounding mutualism that are likely to drive the field in the coming years.

About the Speaker:
Judith L. Bronstein is University Distinguished Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona, with a joint appointment in the Department of Entomology. She received her A.B. from Brown University and M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Michigan. She joined the University of Arizona faculty in 1989. Dr. Bronstein’s lab focuses on the ecology and evolution of interspecific interactions, particularly on mutually beneficial ones (mutualisms). Her current projects focus on their intersection with other interspecific relationships, as well as with intraspecific cooperation. She has served in leadership positions locally, nationally, and worldwide. Dr. Bronstein is currently Associate Editor of Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics; she has served as Editor-in-Chief of The American Naturalist and as President of the American Society of Naturalists. She is a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America, recipient of the American Society of Naturalist’s Distinguished Achievement in the Conceptual Unification of the Biological Sciences Award, and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Contact

Tomas Carlo-Joglar
tac17@psu.edu