The olfactory system of Hymenoptera

El proper dilluns 31 de març a les 15:00  a la Sala de Graus II, la Christina Kelber de la Universitat de Darmstadt, Alemanya, proposa realitzar el següent seminari al CREAF.

DIA: 31 de març

HORA: 15:00

LLOC: Sala de Graus II

TÍTOL: The olfactory system of Hymenoptera

AUTOR: Christina Kelber de la Universitat de Darmstadt, Alemanya

RESUM

In Hymenoptera, odors play an important role for communication, mating, foraging and orientation. Previous studies emphasize that eusocial honeybees and ants possess a highly developed and complex olfactory system with a high number of functional units (glomeruli) in the first olfactory neuropile and voluminous, subcompartmented mushroom bodies. It is also shown that the olfactory system is plastic and that there is large interspecific variance in the peculiarity of several neuroanatomical traits. As a neuroethologist, I´m interested in adaptations of the olfactory system to eusocial life-style and division of labor, to mating, to foraging habits, and to other olfactory guided tasks. I use a comparative approach and investigate the neuroanatomy of different ant, wasp and bee species. Neuroanatomical stainings, confocal microscopy and 3D-reconstruction as well as transmission electron microscopy, genetic barcoding and behavioral experiments are useful methods in my projects.