Cambridge Entomological Club Meeting Next Tuesday!
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Sarah Dendy
Nov 7, 2023, 9:45:50 PM11/7/23
to Cambridge Entomological Club
Next Tuesday! CEC Meeting
Date: Tuesday, November 14th, 7:30 PM EST
Location: In Person in MCZ 101, on Zoom at https://harvard.zoom.us/j/95244632230?pwd=b0I1OXFzN2twK2dtQ25tdWZMdU1Sdz09#success
Title: “Problem solving and flexible control in self-organized collectives”
Speaker: Helen McCreery (Tufts University)
Summary: Across levels of organization—from subcellular processes to massive animal
migrations— groups accomplish tasks well beyond what individuals can do. Among
the most charismatic examples of this are the accomplishments of ant colonies. Ant
colonies perform impressive tasks that are impossible for individual ants. In general,
there are many benefits to collective action— e.g. it is typically scalable and robust—
but there are also costs associated with collective systems, including high “inertia”,
which is thought to result in a loss of flexibility. For example, the positive feedbacks
that allow an ant colony to choose among resources may be hard to counteract if
the chosen resource disappears. Yet for some tasks, ants rapidly respond to changing
conditions. She will discuss the mechanisms of ants’ collective action in two tasks
that require extreme flexibility: maze-like obstacle navigation during cooperative
transport, and self-assembly of living bridges in army ants.
migrations— groups accomplish tasks well beyond what individuals can do. Among
the most charismatic examples of this are the accomplishments of ant colonies. Ant
colonies perform impressive tasks that are impossible for individual ants. In general,
there are many benefits to collective action— e.g. it is typically scalable and robust—
but there are also costs associated with collective systems, including high “inertia”,
which is thought to result in a loss of flexibility. For example, the positive feedbacks
that allow an ant colony to choose among resources may be hard to counteract if
the chosen resource disappears. Yet for some tasks, ants rapidly respond to changing
conditions. She will discuss the mechanisms of ants’ collective action in two tasks
that require extreme flexibility: maze-like obstacle navigation during cooperative
transport, and self-assembly of living bridges in army ants.
NOTICE: We will be holding hybrid meetings to accommodate COVID-19 precautions and audience members from around the world.
For those able to attend, we will have an informal dinner at 6:00 pm at Cambridge Common Restaurant with the speaker, followed by our formal meeting (7:30 - 9:00 pm) in room MCZ101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology (there will be signs to help direct). The meeting will begin with club announcements, followed by a 60-minute presentation by the invited speaker and Q&A. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists. Welcome!
For those able to attend, we will have an informal dinner at 6:00 pm at Cambridge Common Restaurant with the speaker, followed by our formal meeting (7:30 - 9:00 pm) in room MCZ101 of the Museum of Comparative Zoology (there will be signs to help direct). The meeting will begin with club announcements, followed by a 60-minute presentation by the invited speaker and Q&A. Membership is open to amateur and professional entomologists. Welcome!
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