Dear All,
With this email, we'd like to invite you to June’s Wageningen Evolution and Ecology Seminar (WEES) event!
The Seminar will take place on Tuesday 25th of June, from 16:00-17:00 in Orion, C3033. This will be followed by drinks at the Spot.
The associated Workshop will take place earlier in the day from 14:00 - 15:00 in Orion B4042. The workshop allows attendees to meet the seminar’s speaker and discuss a hot topic in science. Furthermore, BSc and MSc students can get 1 ECTS for attending 2 workshops. Registration is required for this workshop, and you can sign up by emailing Andries Janse van Vuuren (andries.jansevanvuuren@wur.nl<mailto:andries.jansevanvuuren@wur.nl>).
You are also welcome to join the speaker for dinner in Wageningen after the seminar and drinks (this will be at your own expense). If you are interested, please email Andries Janse van Vuuren (andries.jansevanvuuren@wur.nl<mailto:andries.jansevanvuuren@wur.nl>).
Please feel free to forward this information to anyone who could be interested!
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Seminar: Does social flexibility facilitate animals to cope with rapidly changing environmental conditions?
Tuesday, June 25th 2024, 16:00 - 17:00, Orion C3033
Prof. Jan Komdeur
Full Professor in Evolutionary Ecology,
University of Groningen, The Netherlands
The current speed of environmental change appears to exceed the evolutionary response rate of many species, and might therefore not be fast enough for adaptation to environmental change. Plasticity in terms of physiological, morphological and behavioural characteristics enables a fast response mechanism facilitating survival and reproduction in changing environments. However, environmental conditions that change rapidly are too drastic to cope with on your own as an individual. I will explore social flexibility as a fast and potent adaptation mechanism. The vast majority of animals live in social environments: at least parts of their lives are affected by the presence and activity of others around them. Most social behaviour is flexible and adaptable to local circumstances. Examples are switches from solitary breeding to group breeding or cooperative breeding (where only a few individuals breed, supported by ‘helpers’). The formation of cooperative groups may temper the fluctuations in survival and reproductive output across good and harsh seasons (under “unstable” conditions) more compared to breeding as separate pairs. In these groups, helpers assist the breeders in raising their young, leading to higher survival of young. I argue that, given the recent rapid changes in environmental conditions, the evolution of social flexibility will be mainly determined by unstable conditions: when environmental conditions become harsh and/or highly variable and unpredictable, not only will groups form, but also advanced sociality will emerge to buffer the negative effects on a group’s fecundity, survival and persistence. I will investigate this using the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) system, which shows a high level of social flexibility.
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Workshop: Stronger together? A framework for studying population and species resiliency to climate change impacts via social buffering.
Tuesday, June 25th 2024, 14:00 – 15:00, Orion B4042
The unprecedented loss of biodiversity due to global change is a major societal concern. To help mitigate biodiversity loss we need to understand the alternative mechanisms that allow organisms to rapidly respond to new conditions given that evolutionary adaptation is probably too slow. Sociality may be a key, largely overlooked factor that helps provide essential flexibility. Forming a group, where subordinate members not only increase the reproductive output of breeders but also reduce variation in that output, may buffer the impact of poor or unpredictable conditions. This novel perspective offers a paradigm shift in how we think about the causes and consequences of sociality. Can animals adjust their social behaviour – adaptively rewiring their social networks – to enable them to buffer the impact of environmental change? During this workshop, we will discuss the possibility that social behaviour can react to a changing environment, and that it facilitates adaptability.
In preparation for the workshop, attendees are encouraged to read the following papers to ensure an engaging discussion:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534722002853?via%3Dihub
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eth.13200
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169534722001331?via%3Dihub
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About WEES
WEES is an initiative from PhD students & postdocs at Wageningen University & Research.
We organize a continuing series of stimulating seminars on contemporary topics in evolution and ecology. For this series, we invite researchers from all over the world who have leading roles in their field. We aim to bring together different groups at Wageningen University using a variety of systems, but with a common interest in evolutionary and ecological questions. WEES is funded by the graduate schools PE&RC, WIMEK, EPS, and WIAS.
Want to organise seminars yourself? Join WEES!
WEES is looking for new members! We aim for a broad and diverse range in topics and would like to welcome new members to help and include topics not represented yet. If you are curious, send an email to weeswageningen@gmail.com<mailto:weeswageningen@gmail.com> and join one of our meetings.
For more information please visit www.weeswageningen.nl<http://www.weeswageningen.nl/> and follow us on X @weeswageningen
Kind regards,
Andries
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Andries Janse van Vuuren
Ph.D. candidate
Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University and Research
http://www.behaviouralecology.nl/