People

Dr Adam L Cronin
Associate Professor

I am interested in the evolution and ecology of social organisms, and how different social systems, and the flexibility inherent in social systems, permits organisms to respond to environmental variation and formulate adaptive responses to life-history trade-offs. To this end I use field and laboratory based studies of hymenopteran model systems (bees, wasps and ants) to examine various questions regarding individual to colony level behavioural strategies in an eco-evolutionary context.

Department of Biological Sciences
Graduate School of Science
Tokyo Metropolitan University
1-1 Minami-Osawa, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, 192-0397, Japan
adamcronin[x]gmail.com

Dr Isaac Planas-Sitjà
Assistant Professor

I combine observational and modelling approaches using different insect groups (eg: cockroaches, ants, bees) and fish (eg: sticklebacks) to study the behaviour of social and gregarious species, with focus on ultimately furthering our understanding of ecological and evolutionary challenges. During my PhD I investigated how inter-individual behavioural differences and social interactions affect the collective behaviour of group-living insects. More recently I expanded my research to the ecological scale by combining field work, genetics and modelling to better understand the life-history trade-offs that drive and maintain different phenotypes within populations and assess the impact of invasive species on local community ecology.

Dr Lucas Hearn
Post-doc

My primary research interests are in native bee evolution and utilizing non-model organisms to challenge our understanding of long-held evolutionary theories. I have an interest in using environmental and ecological data to explore social systems in bees. Specifically, I am passionate about theways in which parasites, predators, and climatic factors shape social behaviors in bees. For my PhD I used genomic and ecological data of a non-model Australian native bee species to investigate the evolutionary transition from solitary living to social living in insects. My current research aims to address the effects of climate change on native bees in Japan. I am particularly interested in exploring the role of life-history traits, such as nesting habitat and social behavior, in determining how native bees adapt and respond to the challenges posed by our changing global climate.

Dr Marta Quitián
Visiting fellow

I am interested in how environmental factors shape species interactions and hence ecosystem dynamics. I obtain comprehensive data on species interactions in the field. Using ecological network analysis and trait-based approaches (i.e. functional diversity indices and functional trait space projections), I detect disruptions on ecosystem functioning. In the past, I focused on seed dispersal and investigated the impact of habitat fragmentation on mutualistic interactions among frugivorous birds and fruiting plants across an elevational gradient in a tropical mountain forest of Ecuador. My current research focuses on pollination and employs ecological network analysis to assess the impact of habitat loss and invasive species on the pollination networks of the remote Ogasawara islands in Japan.

Takuto Sakai
Masters candidate

Influence of group composition on collective performance in Camponotus ants

Kaito Takenaka

Masters candidate

I am interested in plant-pollinator interactions.
Previously, I obtained a bachelor in applied chemistry and did research on the development of novel polymer nanofiber for practical application of all-solid lithium ion batteries.
During my masters here, I do research on the possibility of the ecological rescue of highly endemic flora by invasive honeybees in oceanic islands (Ogasawara islands) which are facing native pollinator extinction. Specifically, I aim to evaluate honeybees’ pollen transport network by microscopic identification of pollen species which hitchhike on their bodies.

Manolo Benitez

Masters candidate

I am primarily interested in Hymenopteran ecology. My focus is on social immunity within the species Ceratina okinawana and observing differences between social and solitary nests. 

Jo Funatsu (B4)

Ryoma Nishimura (B4)

Daisuke Suzuki (B4)

Akiya Sato (B4)