Social Insect Functional Trait Ecology: Past, Present, and Future

For centuries, ecologists have been interested in trying to describe and explain patterns of biodiversity across the Earth's surface. Knowledge of species identities has traditionally informed these kinds of analyses, but species traits are now being increasingly used to uncover the rules that govern the distribution of life.

Traits are measurable characteristics of organisms that impact their performance in ecosystems. Their use revolves around the argument that all organisms have traits that we can directly compare, whereas taxonomic identities are an arbitrary human construct. Consequently, traits provide a much more general view of the forces that structure the distribution of Life on Earth.

In this talk, I will discuss how a trait-based perspective of ecology has influenced the study of social insects - some of the most abundant and important organisms on Earth - with a focus on ants. I will unravel the past and present of social insect trait ecology, before turning to how we should use traits to study social insects in the future. Ultimately, I argue that we need better data, more data, more quickly, and more easily measured, to make the most of the promise of trait-based research.

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