Dr Mathieu
Lihoreau
Research
interests
I
am broadly interested
in social evolution, using arthropods as main models. A major goal of
my research is
to understand how cognitive processes regulate social
behaviour and influence the functioning of groups, from loose aggregates
to cohesive eusocial colonies.
Postdoctoral 2 (The University of Sydney).
This project focuses on how nutrition - the need for organisms
to balance their acquisition of multiple nutrients - affects the
behaviour of individuals, groups and societies. Mathematical
models derived from the Geometric Framework of nutrition ecology and
Percolation Theory help exploring emergent collective patterns in insects, including locusts and fruit flies. My main collaborators are Prof Stephen Simpson and Prof Gregory Sword.
Postdoctoral 1 (Queen Mary University of London).
Bees are faced with hugely
diverse and dynamic floral markets in which they must develop
functional foraging routes. Such routing problems, analogous to
the Travelling Salesman Problem, are
computationally hard to solve. Using artificial flowers and
simulation models, we investigate how
bees develop a spatial memory of their environment and might optimize
their routes using simple movement heuristics. My main collaborators
are Prof Lars Chittka, Dr Nigel Raine, Dr Juliet Osborne and Dr Andrew Reynolds.
PhD thesis (University of Rennes 1). Cockroaches
(Blattaria) is a key group for the study of social evolution because of
their phylogenetic proximity with eusocial termites. Their social biology however remains poorly understood. This work
highlights some emergent properties of social life in urban cockroach
species known to be 'gregarious', characterized by
sophisticated
communication and basic fof cooperation. My main collaborators are Dr Colette Rivault, Prof Jean-Louis Deneubourg and Prof James Costa.
CV
2011 - present:
Postdoctoral researcher - The
University of Sydney (ARC)
2009 - 2010:
Postdoctoral researcher - Queen
Mary University of
London (BBSRC/EPSRC/Wellcome T)
2005
- 2009: PhD Thesis - University
of Rennes 1 (MRT)
2003
- 2005: Master's degree - University
of Rennes 1
2002-2003:
Bachelor's degree -
University of Tours
Awards
2011. Early career researcher prize - International Union for
the Study
of Social Insects (French Section)
2007. Best talk - Meeting of the French Section of the International Union for
the Study of Social Insects, University Paul Sabatier, Toulouse
2006. Best poster - European Conference on Behavioural Biology, University of Belfast
Publications
Peer-reviewed
articles
13.
Lihoreau
M, Simpson SJ
(in press). Food, "culture" and sociality in Drosophila. Frontiers in Comparative Psychology.
12.
Lihoreau
M, Costa JT, Rivault C
(published online). The social biology of domiciliary cockroaches: colony structure, kin recognition and collective decisions. Insectes Sociaux.
11.
Lihoreau
M, Chittka L, Le Comber SC, Raine NE.
(2012). Bees do not use nearest-neighbour rules for optimization of
multi-location routes. Biology Letters, 8:13-16. Supplementary material
10.
Lihoreau
M, Rivault C. (2011). Local enhancement promotes cockroach feeding aggregations. PLoS ONE, 6:e22048.
9.
Lihoreau
M,
Chittka L, Raine NE. (2011). Trade-off between travel distance and
prioritization of high reward sites in traplining bumblebees. Functional Ecology, 25:1284-1292. Supplementary material
8.
Lihoreau
M,
Chittka L, Raine NE. (2010). Travel optimization by foraging
bumblebees through re-adjustments of traplines after discovery
of
new feeding locations. American
Naturalist, 176:744-767. Supplementary material
7. Lihoreau
M, Deneubourg J-L,
Rivault C. (2010). Collective foraging decision in a gregarious
insect. Behavioral
Ecology and Sociobiology, 64:1577-1587. Supplementary
material
6.
Lihoreau
M, Rivault C. (2010). German cockroach males maximize
their inclusive fitness by avoiding mating with kin. Animal Behaviour,
80:303-309.
5. Lihoreau
M, Brepson L,
Rivault C. (2009). The weight of the clan: even
in insects, social
isolation
can induce a behavioural syndrome. Behavioural
Processes, 82:80-84.
4. Lihoreau
M, Rivault C.
(2009). Kin recognition via cuticular
hydrocarbons shapes cockroach
social
life. Behavioral
Ecology,
20:46-53.
3. Lihoreau
M, Zimmer C, Rivault
C. (2008). Mutual mate choice: when it
pays both sexes
to
avoid inbreeding.
PLoS ONE, 3:e3365.
2. Lihoreau
M, Rivault
C. (2008). Tactile stimuli trigger group effects in cockroach aggregations.
Animal
Behaviour, 75:1965-1972.
1. Lihoreau
M, Zimmer C, Rivault
C. (2007). Kin recognition and incest
avoidance in
a group-living
insect. Behavioral
Ecology, 18:880-887.
Book
reviews
Lihoreau
M. (2010). Book review of Spatial cognition, spatial
perception: mapping the self and space. Dolins FL and
Mitchel RW (eds). The
Quaterly Review of biology, 85:506.
Popular
science articles
Recent
talks
Lihoreau
M (2012). The cognitive dimension of insect societies. Invited seminar.
Research Centre on Animal Cognition (UMR CNRS 5169), University Paul
Sabatier, Toulouse (France).
Lihoreau
M (2011). The multi-location routes of traplining bees. Invited speaker. Workshop on Insect Homing: Mechanisms and Models,
Bielefeld
(Germany).
Lihoreau
M (2011). From solitary to
eusocial lifestyle: what do the 'other' insect
societies teach us about social evolution? Invited seminar.
Research Institute on Insect Biology (UMR CNRS 6035),
University François Rabelais, Tours
(France).
Lihoreau
M (2011). Bees and the Travelling
Salesman problem. Invited
plenary session. Meeting
of the French Section of the International Union for
the Study
of Social Insects, University Pierre and Marie Curie, Banyuls
(France).
Lihoreau
M (2011).Bees and the Travelling
Salesman problem. Invited
seminar. Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie
University, Sydney
(Australia).
Lihoreau
M (2011). From solitary to
eusocial lifestyle: what do the 'other' insect
societies teach us about social evolution? Invited seminar.
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Sydney
(Australia).
Editorial boards
Frontiers in Comparative Psychology
Societies
International
Union for the Study of Social Insects (IUSSI)
Société
Française pour l'étude du Comportement Animal
(SFECA)
The Association for
the Study of Animal
Behaviour (ASAB)
Media coverage
BBC Nature: 2nd May 2012 - Why cockroaches need their friends. Walker M.
National Geographic: February 2012 (p26) - Bumblebee math. Parker G.
New Scientist: 17th August 2011 - Zoologer: the world's smartest insect. Marshall M.
Science & Vie:
March 2011 (p.68-77) - Insectes: leur intelligence défie la
nôtre. Lassagne F.
CBC radio:
27th October 2010 - Bees math problem (interview
with Carol Off).
Fox News: 25th
October 2010 - Tiny bee brains beat computers at complex math problems.
CBS News: 25th
October 2010 - Bee's tiny brain beats
computers at complex Math Problem.
MSNBC: 25th
October 2010 - Need a shortcut? Ask a bumblebee.
The Independent:
25th October 2010 - Bees are quicker than
computers at maths. von Radowitz J.
The Times:
25th October 2010 - Bees
could help to ease traffic congestion, scientists suggest
The Guardian:
24th October 2010 - Bees'
tiny brains beat computers, study finds.
BBC News: 22nd
September 2010 - Mapping the flight of the
bumblebee. Gill V.
ABC:
10th June 2010 - Roaches prefer dinner parties.
O'Hanlon L.
Disovery news: 10th
June 2010 - Roaches prefer dinner parties.
O'Hanlon L.
MSNBC: 10th
June 2010 - Roaches prefer dinner parties.
O'Hanlon L.
BBC News: 4th
june 2010 - How cockroaches 'talk' about food.
Gill V.
Nature: 30th
july 2009 - Why there's never just one. Nature, Research highlight
460:555.
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