{"691033":{"#nid":"691033","#data":{"type":"event","title":"PhD Defense by Paige Caine","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDoctor of Philosophy in Biology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPaige Caine\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWill defend her dissertation\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003Erescue behavior in fire ants\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E17, July, 2026\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E1PM\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowey N210\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/teams.microsoft.com\/meet\/274409970986137?p=7AFsGM7OflEad14LfB\u0022 title=\u0022https:\/\/teams.microsoft.com\/meet\/274409970986137?p=7AFsGM7OflEad14LfB\u0022\u003Ehttps:\/\/teams.microsoft.com\/meet\/274409970986137?p=7AFsGM7OflEad14LfB\u003C\/a\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EThesis Advisor:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMichael A.D. Goodisman, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECommittee Members:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDaniel I Goldman, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences \u0026amp; School of Physics\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWilliam Ratcliff, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Biological Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETakao Sasaki, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESchool of Arts \u0026amp; Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUniversity of Rochester\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBrendan Hunt, Ph.D.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDepartment of Genetics \u0026amp; Department of Entomology\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUniversity of Georgia\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EABSTRACT:\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMany organisms extend their individual capabilities through the power of cooperation, accomplishing tasks collectively that they could never achieve on their own. Social insects are powerful examples of this phenomenon, dominating ecosystems worldwide due in large part to their impressive aptitude for collective behavior. This dissertation explores social insect collective behavior in two contexts: nest construction and cooperative rescue behavior. First, I synthesize literature on nest architecture and building behaviors across social insect taxa, demonstrating the impressive diversity of social insect nests while highlighting common regulatory mechanisms that govern construction behaviors in multiple species. I then examine cooperative rescue behavior in the invasive fire ant \u003Cem\u003ESolenopsis invicta\u003C\/em\u003E. I stage cooperative rescue assays and use population genetics approaches to demonstrate a genetic effect on division of labor in cooperative rescue. I further stage and analyze rescue assays with varying targets to both suggest a role for chemical signaling in locating rescue targets, and to reveal that both target caste and target mass contribute together to rescue priority. Finally, I investigate the role of collective cognition in rescue behavior. I vary both the number of targets and the number of rescuers, and find that larger rescuing groups demonstrate higher cognitive capacity, but that this cognitive capacity isn\u2019t hindered by the addition of multiple tasks. Overall, these projects demonstrate the power of emergent collective behavior in social insects, supporting a lack of hierarchy in both the value of different kinds of potential targets, and in the regulation of collective behaviors.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003Erescue behavior in fire ants\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"RESCUE BEHAVIOR IN FIRE ANTS"}],"uid":"27707","created_gmt":"2026-07-06 13:12:07","changed_gmt":"2026-07-06 13:12:35","author":"Tatianna Richardson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","field_event_time":{"event_time_start":"2026-07-17T13:00:00-04:00","event_time_end":"2026-07-17T15:00:00-04:00","event_time_end_last":"2026-07-17T15:00:00-04:00","gmt_time_start":"2026-07-17 17:00:00","gmt_time_end":"2026-07-17 19:00:00","gmt_time_end_last":"2026-07-17 19:00:00","rrule":null,"timezone":"America\/New_York"},"location":"Howey N210","extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"221981","name":"Graduate Studies"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"100811","name":"Phd Defense"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[{"id":"1788","name":"Other\/Miscellaneous"}],"invited_audience":[{"id":"78771","name":"Public"}],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}