To navigate purposefully, an animal must align its body orientation with its intended target and adjust its course accordingly. In the insect world, this essential navigational process is facilitated by specific neurons within a brain region known as the central complex (CX). Recent studies indicate that the noduli, a subregion of the CX, play a critical role. Our project aims to investigate how goal-oriented movements are generated by the neural circuits within the CX noduli. We have noted that the development of noduli in termites appears to be linked with their transition from nymphs to reproductive forms.
In this project, we will analyze the behavioral capabilities of various termite castes and correlate these behaviors with the presence or absence of CX noduli in a controlled laboratory setting. This research aims to uncover the evolutionary shift in termites from a primitive state (without noduli) to a more advanced CX, paralleling the significant evolutionary transition from wingless to winged insects.
Methods: The student will conduct behavioral analyses, creating quantitative ethograms of workers, nymphs, soldiers, and reproductive forms, utilizing machine learning-based automatic tracking. These behavioral observations will be integrated with a quantitative 3D neuroanatomical analysis of termite brains through immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy.
We are able to host two master’s students on this project in the group of Assoc. Prof. Stanley Heinze
If you are interested in termites, insects and in the topic itself get in touch with:
Dr. Ayse Yilmaz-Heusinger, Lund Vision Group