Behavioral Ecology, Disease Ecology and Population Genetics

Beth Archie     Assistant Professor B.A., Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME Ph.D., Duke University, Durham, NC Postdoctoral research at the Center for Evolutionary and Conservation Genetics, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. and the University of Montana, Missoula, MT

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Research in the Archie lab combines four areas—behavioral ecology, disease ecology, population genetics, and conservation biology—to understand the evolution of animal social behavior and its genetic and disease-related causes and consequences. These areas are linked by the critical observation that animal social behavior is shaped by, and is a major shaper of genetic structure and infectious disease dynamics in natural populations. For example, patterns of genetic relatedness (i.e. kinship) influence which animals live together, and which animals mate and produce offspring. In turn, when animals make decisions about where to live or who to mate with, they influence the genetic structure of their populations. Furthermore, these social or mating relationships can serve as roadmaps for the spread of disease and can influence susceptibility to disease, via stress, dominance and other factors. Specifically, we’re interested in answering three main questions:

1. What are the disease-related and population genetic causes and consequences of sociality?

2. How do these causes and consequences influence the evolutionary costs and benefits of social relationships?

3. How does individual genetic variation affect behavior, immunity, and fitness?

To answer these questions, we use research techniques that range from behavioral observations of wild animals to noninvasive genetic tools to genotype individuals and their parasites and pathogens.