Mutualism: What do we know, and where do we go from here?

Abstract:
In this talk, Prof. Judie Bronstein reviews the history of the study of mutualism, a field that has only coalesced in the past twenty years. She will identify six major research directions. She will then present their own recent work on one hawkmoth pollination mutualism to show how these directions can be integrated to move our understanding forward. This is a particularly intriguing mutualism 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. The talk concludes by discussing a few pressing issues surrounding mutualism that are likely to drive the field in the coming years.

Location: WN building, Room WN-F123