Chasing Ants (And Their Microbes) in the Rainforest Lecture Image with Corrie Moreau

Free Public Lecture

Corrie Moreau, Moser Professor of Arthropod Biosystematics and Biodiversity, Cornell University

Microbes play critical roles in the biology and health of human beings, but we are not the only species that benefits from intimate relationships with microbes. Ants, for instance, rely on the microbial communities living in their guts to process food and make strong armor. Corrie Moreau will discuss this unique aspect of ant biology and what it tells us about the diversity and dominance of ants in terrestrial ecosystems, the evolutionary history of social insects, and the broad-scale evolutionary patterns of life.

Evolution Matters Lecture Series

Series supported by a generous gift from Drs. Herman and Joan Suit

Free event parking at the 52 Oxford Street Garage

Livestreaming Information:

This event will be livestreamed on the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture Facebook page. A recording of this program will be available on the HMSC Lecture Videos page approximately three weeks after the lecture.

Presented by the Harvard Museum of Natural History in collaboration with the Microbial Sciences Initiative at Harvard University

About the speakers:

Corrie Moreau's research on the evolution and diversification of ants and their symbiotic bacteria leverages molecular and genomic tools to address the origin of species and how co-evolved systems benefit both partners. She also pursues questions on the role of biogeography and symbiosis in shaping macroevolutionary processes to better understand broad-scale evolutionary patterns of life. Moreau is also engaged with efforts to promote science communication and to increase diversity in the sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University and completed her undergraduate and master degrees in Biology at San Francisco State University. She was elected an AAAS Fellow in 2018, a Kavli Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences USA in 2016, and highlighted as a Woman of Impact by the National Geographic Society in 2018.