Me and we: The interplay between individual and group behavioral variation in social collectives

Adria C. Leboeuf, Christina M. Grozinger

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

In social insects, substantial behavioral variation exists among individuals and across colonies. Here, we discuss the role of individual variation in shaping behavioral tendencies of social groups,and highlight gapsinour knowledge about the roleofthe social group in modulating individual behavioral tendencies. We summarize our knowledge of the genetic mechanisms underpinning these processes, and describe the use of genomic tools to better understand the influence of social context on individuals. We discuss rapid collective phasic transitions, in which a group of individuals engages in a common novel behavior together, as a potentially highly informative model system in which to comprehensively investigate the interplay between individual and group variation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)16-24
Number of pages9
JournalCurrent Opinion in Insect Science
Volume5
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2014

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Insect Science

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