Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

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Fungus-growing ant, photo by Jeremy Harrison

Natasha Mehdiabadi , SI Postdoctoral Fellow

  • Phone:
    202-633-1002 (office)
    301-238-1078 (lab)
  • Fax:
    202-786-2894
  • E-mail Address: Mehdiabadi@si.edu
  • USPS Address:
    Smithsonian Institution
    PO Box 37012, MRC 188
    Washington, DC 20013-7012
  • Shipping Address:
    Smithsonian Institution
    National Museum of Natural History
    10th & Constitution NW
    Washington, DC 20560-0188
  • Education:
    BS Texas Tech University
    MS Stanford University
    PhD University of Texas, Austin
Natasha Mehdiabadi

Research Interests:

  • Evolution of cooperation in social insects and microbes
  • Social insect evolution, ecology, and behavior
  • Phylogenetics and molecular evolution of ants and microbes

I study the evolution and ecology of social interactions. In particular, my work focuses on (i) the evolution of cooperation and conflict in group-living organisms and (ii) symbiosis. Cooperation is central to many of the major transitions in evolution, from the emergence of chromosomes via the assembly of independent genes to the origin of multicellular organisms from single cells. Understanding cooperation is therefore fundamental to understanding the history of life. With a foundation in manipulative field and laboratory experiments, I have recently gained extensive experience in molecular techniques that will help me understand the genetic mechanisms underlying social processes. Empirical tests of social evolution theory have traditionally treated the genes underlying social traits as a black box. However, I now use advances in molecular biology, phylogenetics, and genomics to investigate the functional significance of genes behind social traits. My research program on the evolution of cooperation spans multiple levels of analysis (field work to molecular work), a range of symbiotic interactions (from parasitism to mutualism), and a diversity of systems (social insects and microbes).

Publications

Mehdiabadi, N.J., M.R. Kronforst, D.C. Queller and J.E. Strassmann. 2009. Phylogeny, reproductive isolation and kin recognition in the social amoeba Dictyostelium purpureum. Evolution 63(2): 542-548.
Jack, C.N., J.G. Ridgeway, N.J. Mehdiabadi, E.I. Jones, T.A. Edwards, D.C. Queller and J.E. Strassmann. 2008. Segregate or cooperate: a study of the interaction between two species of Dictyostelium. BMC Evolutionary Biology 8: 293. pdf icon

Gilbert, O.M., K.R. Foster, N. J. Mehdiabadi, J.E. Strassmann, and D.C. Queller. 2007. High relatedness maintains multicellular cooperation in a social amoeba by controlling cheater mutants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104: 8913-8917. pdf icon

Mehdiabadi, N.J., C. N. Jack, T. Talley Farnham, T.G. Platt, S. E. Kalla, G. Shaulsky, D.C. Queller, and J.E. Strassmann. 2006. Kin preference in a social microbe. Nature 442: 881-882. pdf icon

Mehdiabadi, N.J., B. Hughes, and U.G. Mueller. 2006. Cooperation, conflict, and coevolution in the attine ant-fungus symbiosis. Behavioral Ecology 17: 291-296. pdf icon

Mehdiabadi, N.J., E.K. Kawazoe, and L.E. Gilbert. 2004. Parasitoids and competitors influence colony-level responses in the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. Naturwissenschaften 91: 539-543. pdf icon

Mehdiabadi, N.J., E.K. Kawazoe, and L.E. Gilbert. 2004. Phorid fly parasitoids of invasive fire ants indirectly improve the competitive ability of a native ant. Ecological Entomology 29: 621-627. pdf icon

Mehdiabadi, N.J., H.K. Reeve, and U.G. Mueller. 2003. Queens versus workers: Sex-ratio conflict in eusocial Hymenoptera. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18: 88-93. pdf icon

Mehdiabadi, N.J. and L.E. Gilbert. 2002. Colony-level impacts of parasitoid flies on fire ants. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 269: 1695-1699. pdf icon

Gordon, D.M. and N.J. Mehdiabadi. 1999. Encounter rate and task allocation in harvester ants. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology 45: 370-377. pdf icon

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