Recent Courses
EE BIOL 129- Animal Behavior
EE BIOL 188- Special Courses in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Research Areas
Behavior, Ecology, Theory
Research Interests
Many biological systems are complex aggregates of multiple agents working together towards collective, higher-order goals, and evolution acts on variation in these emergent collective properties. There is no central control dictating the activities of members in the assembly. Instead, agents use local signals that determine their behavior and are received through an intricate interaction network resulting in collective phenotypes. Thus, the composition of a group and the way its members interact affects the success of the group as a whole, just as the composition of any sports team dictates its success in the league.
The Pinter-Wollman lab examines the emergence of collective outcomes from group composition by combining field and lab studies with computer simulations, theoretical work, image analysis, and social network analysis.
Selected Publications
Barbee B. & Pinter-Wollman N. 2022. Nutritional needs and predation risk combine to shape foraging decisions in ants. Current Zoology. zoac089 (link) https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoac089
Madrzyk M. & Pinter-Wollman N. 2022 Colonies of ants allocate exploratory individuals to where they are ecologically needed. Current Zoology. zoac065 (link) https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoac065
Michelangeli M., Martin J.M., Pinter-Wollman N., Ioannou C.C., McCallum E.S., Bertram M.G. & Brodin T. 2022 Predicting the impacts of chemical pollutants on animal groups. TREE. 37(9): 789-802 (link) (PDF) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2022.05.009
O’Fallon S., Horna Lowell E.S., Daniels D. & Pinter-Wollman N. 2022 Extrinsic and intrinsic effects on nest architecture. Behavioral Ecology arac026 (PDF)
https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arac026
Newmann K. & Pinter-Wollman N. 2022. The effect of resource availability on interspecific competition between a native and an invasive ant. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 377:20210146 https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0146 (PDF)
Sharma N., Gadagkar R. & Pinter-Wollman N. 2022. A reproductive heir has a central position in multilayer social networks of primitively eusocial paper wasps. Animal Behaivour.185: 21-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.12.011
Miller J.S., Wan E., O’Fallon S. & Pinter-Wollman N. 2021.Modularity and connectivity of nest structure scale with colony size. Evolution. doi:10.1111/evo.14402 (PDF) (bioRxiv)
Lemanski N., Cook C.N., Ozturk C., Smith B. & Pinter-Wollman N. 2021. The effect of individual learning on collective foraging in honey bees in complex environments. Animal Behaviour. 179: 113-123 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.06.033
Hobson E.#, Silk M.#, Fefferman N.H., Larremore D., Rombach M., Shay S., & Pinter-Wollman N. 2021. A guide to choosing and implementing reference models for social network analysis. Biological Reviews. doi: 10.1111/brv.12775 (PDF)
Wright C.M., Lichtenstein J.L.L., Montgomery G.A., Luscuskie L.P., Pinter-Wollman N., & Pruitt J.N., "Exposure to predators reduces collective foraging aggressiveness and eliminates its relationship with colony personality composition", Behavioral Ecology Sociobiology, 71 (126): - (2017) [link].
Lichtenstein J.L.L, Wright C.M., McEwen B., Pinter-Wollman N. & Pruitt J.N., "The multidimensional behavioral hypervolumes of two interacting species predict their space use and survival", Animal Behaviour, 132 (2017): 129-136 (2017) .
Mosqueiro T., Cook C., Huerta R., Gadau J., Smith B. & Pinter-Wollman N., " Task allocation and site fidelity jointly influence foraging regulation in honeybee colonies", Royal Society Open Science, 4 : 170344- (2017) [link].
Keiser C.N., Pinter-Wollman N., Ziemba M.J., Kothamasu K.S., & Pruitt J.N., "The index case is not enough: Variation among individuals, groups, and social networks modify bacterial transmission dynamics", Journal of Animal Ecology, 4 : - (2017) [link].
Pinter-Wollman N., Mi B. & Pruitt J.N., "Replacing bold individuals has a smaller impact on group performance than replacing shy indiviuals", Behavioral Ecology, 4 : - (2017) [link].
Pinter-Wollman N., Fiore S.M. & Theraulaz G., "The impact of architecture on collective behaviour", Nature Ecology and Evolution, 1 : 0111- (2017) .
Pruitt J.N., Howell K.A., Gladney S.J., Yang Y., Lichtenstein J.L.L., Spicer M.E., Echeverri S.A., & Pinter-Wollman N., "The behavioral hypervolume of predator groups and predator-predator interactions shape prey survival rates and selection on prey behavior", American Naturalist, 189 (3): 254-266 (2017) .
Lichtenstein J.L., Wright C.M., Luscuskie L.P., Montgomery G.A., Pinter-Wollman N. & Pruitt J.N., "Participation in cooperative prey capture and the benefits gained from it are associated with individual personality", Current Zoology, 189 (3): - (2017) .
Pruitt J.N., Bolnick D.I., Sih A., DiRienzo N. & Pinter-Wolman N., "Behavioral hypervolumes of spider communities predict community performance and disbandment", Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 283 : 20161409- (2016) .
Keiser C.N., Howell K.A., Pinter-Wollman N., & Pruitt J.N., "Personality composition alters the transmission of cuticular bacteria in social groups", Biology Letters, 12 : 20160297- (2016) .