Sisters, mothers, and others: how kin shape the life-history of an asocial squirrel
Institute Seminar by Caitlin Wells
- Date: Jun 3, 2025
- Time: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM (Local Time Germany)
- Speaker: Caitlin Wells
- Dr. Caitlin Wells, Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology at Colorado State University. Caitlin is a conservation ecologist whose work integrates evolutionary ecology, animal behavior, and conservation genomics to predict the responses of wild vertebrates to environmental change. Caitlin works with birds (primarily waterfowl) and mammals (rodents, elephants, and primates) of conservation concern, primarily in the mountains and the tropics, with long-term work in Hawaii, the Rocky Mountains, and Uganda. She is currently the PI of the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory’s long-term ground squirrel project studying social and reproductive behavior, accelerated aging, life histories, and phenological mismatch under climatic change.
- Location: Bückle St. 5a, 78467 Konstanz
- Room: Seminar room MPI-AB Bücklestrasse + Online
- Host: Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
- Contact: bbarrett@ab.mpg.de
Among mammals, the formation of matrilines – multigenerational female kin groups – is thought to be a key transition toward complex social living in primates, carnivores, and ground-dwelling squirrels. The costs and benefits of interactions with female kin have been well-identified for social species. However, understanding the influence of female kin in less social species is essential for understanding the evolution of solitary living. In this talk, I will describe how the presence of female kin shapes multiple facets of the life history of the golden-mantled ground squirrel (Callospermophilus lateralis), from juvenile dispersal and reproductive maturity to space use and survival.
The MPI-AB Seminar Series is open to members of MPI and Uni Konstanz. The zoom link is published each week in the MPI-AB newsletter.