EEB Prelim Seminar Series - Selection on Cognition in the Wild

Seminar Summary: Cognition refers to the processes by which animals acquire, store, and use information from the environment. These processes drive many adaptive behaviors, but we know little about how cognitive traits evolve in wild populations. I will use Polistes wasps as a model to investigate the links between cognition, behavior, and fitness over multiple generations in the field. My dissertation will provide important information about the costs and benefits of individual variation in cognition.