On October 4, 2006 from 7-9 pm at Verde Café in downtown Champaign, entomologist Andrew Suarez discussed his recent research on ant invasions, social recognition systems and trap jaw ants. Ants are model organisms for understanding a variety of ecological and behavioral processes.
Dr Suarez is on the entomology faculty at UIUC where he teaches graduate seminars on “Biological Invasions” and “Social Insects” along with several introductory level courses including “Ecological Effects of Globalization” and “Animal Behavior”. He also teaches an Ant Course in Costa Rica for The California Academy of Sciences. His research centers on the mechanisms and impact of biological invasions, the patterns and mechanisms of nestmate recognition in social insects, and the effect of habitat fragmentation on animals.
His research on trap jaw ants was recently featured on the BBC and he his work on the invasion of Argentine ants appeared in a New York Times article on global warming.