Center for the Study of Complex Systems
Seminar Series
Tuesday 10 December 2013
Room 4448 East Hall
12:00 - 1:00 pm
SPEAKER:
Heather Goldsby,
Department of Biology, University of Washington
Faculty Candidate
Title: The Origins of Division of Labor and Developmental Complexity: Using Digital Organisms to Understand Major Transitions in Evolution
Abstract: Major transitions in evolution occur when formerly distinct individuals join together in a higher-level unit that functions as a single reproductive entity. Such transitions include single cells evolving into multicellular organisms and insects forming eusocial colonies. Major transitions in evolution are challenging to study because of the slow pace of evolution and imperfect historical data. To address these challenges, I use digital organisms (populations of self-replicating computer programs that undergo open-ended evolution) to investigate questions surrounding the evolution of division of labor, a fundamental aspect of major transitions in evolution. In this talk, I will present how simple evolutionary pressures can give rise to self-organized groups of digital organisms that exhibit task-based and reproductive division of labor. In response to evolutionary pressures, some evolved groups become so dependent upon communication capabilities that they exhibit a marked loss in lower-level individuality: individuals within groups can perform tasks that no individual can perform in isolation. The simultaneous loss of functionality at a lower level and emergence of new functionality at a higher level indicates a shift in autonomy, which is a central component of major transitions in evolution. Additionally, I will present a new hypothesis regarding the evolution of reproductive division of labor, as well as experimental evidence in support of it. The "dirty-work" hypothesis states that germ-soma differentiation can evolve to mitigate a tradeoff between performing mutagenic work and conserving the genetic material that encodes the ability to perform work. Studying evolution using a tractable, computational system provides us with unprecedented access to understanding how evolutionary pressures shape the behavior of individuals, groups, and populations as they undergo major transitions in evolution.
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Center for the Study of Complex Systems
Seminar Series
Thursday* 12 December 2013(Study Day)
Room 335 West Hall*
*note different day and location
12:00 - 1:00 pm
SPEAKER:
Juan Bonachela,
Princeton University, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Faculty Candidate
Title: Unifying Ecology and Evolution: Temporal Complexity in Biological Systems
Abstract: Complex biological systems embody some of the most fascinating phenomena observed in nature. In these systems, interactions across spatial, temporal and organizational scales are key to system dynamics. Thus, disentangling these interactions is essential in order to understand the associated emergent phenomenology. In this talk, I will present specific biological examples in which a focus on the different layers of temporal complexity improves our understanding of the system under scrutiny. From microbial populations to ecological networks or aggregation patterns and critical transitions, I will show how a multidisciplinary approach combining physics and mathematics with biology helps identify the relevant underlying biological mechanisms. However, feedbacks between ecology and evolution may challenge the ability of current models to make long-term predictions for these examples. I will discuss novel ideas to extend models and develop new frameworks in order to account for eco-evolutionary interactions.
