Dear All,
We would like to invite you to attend an upcoming Wageningen Evolution and Ecology Seminar (WEES) seminar and workshop, held in person.
The seminar will take place on Thursday, 19 February 2026, 16:00–17:00 in Orion, C2050. This will be followed by drinks at The Spot and an opportunity to meet and have dinner with the Speaker (dinner is at your own cost, but sign up with Jimmie - Jimmie.Zeelenberg@wur.nl).
Earlier that afternoon, Dr. Csata will also give a workshop from 14:00–15:30 in Orion, C2035.
Please forward this information to anyone who could be interested!
Seminar: Social Cohesion Under Challenge: Ant Responses to Parasitic Fungi
(19 February 2026, 16:00–17:00, Orion C2050)
Dr. Enikő Csata
Université Paul Sabatier (Toulouse III), France
Pathogens and parasites are powerful models for studying coevolution, as their evolutionary trajectories are tightly linked yet shaped by conflicting selective pressures. In social species such as ants, parasitic exploitation becomes particularly complex: parasites effectively face two hosts—the infected individual and its colony—creating selective pressures that operate at both individual and collective levels. Ants host a remarkable diversity of parasites, some of which alter host life history, physiology, and behaviour with consequences that scale from individuals to entire colonies. While a few ant parasites have become iconic for their striking ability to manipulate hosts, the ecology and evolutionary significance of less conspicuous pathogens—particularly microscopic fungi—remain understudied despite their ubiquity.
In this seminar, Dr. Csata will present work on the coevolutionary conflict between fungal parasites and ant colonies, examining fungal infection strategies, their effects on host behaviour, and how colonies deploy collective defences such as social immunity and self-medication to counter these threats and maintain social cohesion.
Workshop:
Beyond the Obvious: Cryptic Interactions from Mutualism to Parasitism
(19 February 2026, 14:00–15:30, Orion C2035)
In this workshop, Dr. Csata will share her experience studying cryptic fungal parasites of ants, focusing on the challenges of detecting these interactions and understanding their impacts on host behaviour and colony dynamics. The session will continue with an interactive discussion where participants can share their work on any interaction across the mutualism-parasitism spectrum. Whether you study microbiomes, mycorrhizae, endophytes, parasitoids, or pathogens in any system, we'll discuss methodological challenges, exchange approaches for studying "invisible" organisms, and explore how these cryptic players shape ecology and evolution. Registration is required for the Masterclass as the SPOTS ARE LIMITED, and you can sign up by emailing Jimmie (Jimmie.Zeelenberg@wur.nl).
About WEES
WEES is an initiative of PhD students and postdocs at Wageningen University to 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 graduate schools PE&RC, EPS, WIMEK and WIAS.
Want to organise seminars yourself? Join WEES!
WEES is looking for new members! We aim for a broad and diverse range of topics and would like to welcome new members to help and include topics not represented yet. If you are curious, send an email toweeswageningen@gmail.com and join one of our meetings.
For more information, please visit www.tumblr.com/weeswageningen and follow us on X @weeswageningen linkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/wees-wageningen
Kind Regards,
Jimmie Zeelenberg
Ph.D. Candidate
Laboratory of Genetics
Wageningen University and research, The Netherlands