Comments on: Evolution and development of castes in ants

By: myrmician

myrmician — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:23:50 +0000

Congratulations! Sounds like a very exciting place to be – a fresh angle and I am sure your work on comparative anatomy will give you insights into the development of alternative caste morphology.

By: Roberto Keller

Roberto Keller — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:08:32 +0000

Thank you John. Now stop being so secretive and share your new job with the internets already!

By: John Wilkins

John Wilkins — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 02:11:52 +0000

Congratulations, Roberto. Seems to be the month for new positions…

By: Roberto Keller

Roberto Keller — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:51:52 +0000

Thank you.

I will be looking at discrete changes in body plan (e.g., presence/absence of flight sclerites) rather than continuous variation, as in the case of caste polymorphism. Curiously, this includes the soldiers of certain species, that may not be equivalent to major workers. The debates surrounding the definition of the term soldier reflect this ambiguity (yeah, I should blog about that. I’m just too busy!).

By: Marcio

Marcio — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 22:07:10 +0000

Congrats, Roberto!

Will you be working only on worker/queen castes? Or will you focus also on caste polymorphism?

By: Alex

Alex — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 16:28:03 +0000

Congratulations- this sounds like the perfect position for you!