An unexpectedly diverse group of arthropods closely interacts with ants, going from permanent nest inhabiting parasitic beetles to food provisioning aphids near and in ant nests.

These ant-symbiont interactions were traditionally pairwise studied; but in fact, ant nests support whole communities of co-habiting and interacting associates. These arthropods do not only interact with their ant host, but also with other cohabiting associates by predation and competition. In that way every ant nest can be considered as a biological island (“microcosm”) which supports a symbiont community which in turn interacts with other neighbouring ant microcosms in spatially structured networks.

Throughout his research, he gained a profound understanding of the interactions within these microcosms and networks using chemical, behavioral, molecular, and food web techniques. He demonstrated that ant symbiont microcosms are unique terrestrial model systems that capture major species interactions, including symbiosis, competition, predation, and co-dispersal.

While the effects of global change are typically studied in isolation on single species or iconic groups, the response of entire multi-trophic level communities and networks remains poorly understood. He aims to use ant symbiont microcosms in his new position as Chercheur Qualifié at the Département de Biologie des Organismes to address this gap. He will test and predict community-wide responses of these natural model systems to various anthropogenic stressors, such as eutrophication and habitat fragmentation.