One can readily sense the complexity of collective behaviours by looking at the coordinated movements of flying birds or at the efficient division of labour between workers in the hive and in the anthill.

The Unit of Social Ecology (USE laboratory) has a long experience in the field of behavioural and ecological sciences, with a special focus on the collective organization of insect societies and the interactions with other organisms and the environment.  USE carries out research in a wide range of topics including ethology, chemical ecology, insect physiology, socio-ecology, network and community ecology.

We are interested in identifying the factors that drive social life, using ants as main -but not exclusive- biological models.  We study the mechanisms that lead to the emergence of collective behaviours, such as temporal patterns of synchronized activity, coordinated nest building, integrated network of foraging trails, efficient division of labour between workers or complex symbiotic interactions with nest associated organisms (myrmecophiles) and mutualistic aphids in and around the nest. We aim not only to understand how ant societies and their interaction networks function but also how they respond to existing stressors, such as pathogens, and emerging challenges, including habitat deterioration and global environmental change.

Aside from basic research on insect sociality and interactions, we also deal with more applied issues related, for example, to swarm intelligence, robotics, new modalities to control animal populations or impact of ant fauna on local ecosystems.