"The Role of Communication in Cooperation Between Species"
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Manuel Morales, associate professor of biology, will deliver the closing lecture of the 2009 Faculty Lecture Series on Thursday, March 19. The title of his lecture is "The Role of Communication in Cooperation Between Species." The talk will be held at 4 p.m. in Wege Auditorium in The Science Center on the Williams College campus. It is free and open to the public. A reception will follow the talk.Morales' research involves the study of mutualism and how species benefit one another.
His work has examined the net positive interaction between ants and the treehopper Publilia concave, perhaps a model system for mutualism. In this system, treehoppers provide ants a sugary excretion that the ants use for food, while ants protect treehoppers from predators.
His research shows that treehoppers emit vibrational signals, or "chirps," to communicate with ants when they are in danger. Ants then respond to "chirps" by increasing the number of ants they have patrolling a designated area. Morales hypothesizes that many species utilize similar forms of communication.
Morales' recent findings were published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B in May 2008, a publication of the Royal Society, the world's oldest scientific academy still in existence. It publishes research concerned with biological studies.
Morales received his B.A. from Kenyon College in 1994 and his Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Connecticut in 1999. He did his postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland.
Karen Kwitter, the Ebenezer Fitch Professor of Astronomy, is chair of this year's Faculty Lecture Committee.
