Address
Zoologisches Institut
der Universität Basel
Evolutionsbiologie
Vesalgasse 1
CH-4051 Basel
Switzerland
Office
E0.14
Phone
+41 (0)61 267 03 27
Fax
+41 (0)61 267 03 62
Email
joel.meunier-at-unibas.ch
Postdoc in the group of Dr Mathias Kölliker. Works on the evolution of social life using the common European earwig (Forficula auricularia) as model species.
I am broadly interested in the evolution of sociality in insects. Group living is considered one of the major evolutionary transitions of life on Earth and can be found in diverse animal species. However, living in non-clonal group entails potential conflicts among colony members that need to be solved to ensure individual fitness. Overall, my research endeavours (i) to get better insights on the behavioral and genetic mechanisms regulating within-group conflicts, (ii) to understand the basis of recognition systems and chemical communication within and between groups, (iii) to shed light on the reciprocal interactions between social environment and traits expressed by group members, and finally (iv) to unravel how genetic co-evolution/co-adaptation between family members influences the nature of social interactions. For updated information see https://sites.google.com/site/meunierjoel/
My post-doc project is built around four axes related to the evolution of social life in the subsocial insect Forficula auricularia (the European earwig). The first axis investigates whether family interactions between mothers and nymphs influence female's investment in future reproduction. In this species, some females indeed lay a single clutch during their lifetime, whereas others produce a second clutch a few weeks after the first one. The second axis investigates the potential costs and benefits of maternal care under variable quality of environments. The third axis tests inbreeding depression in this species, wherein males and females are gregarious and are known to present a highly promiscuous mating system. Finally, the fourth axis explores the chemical basis of nestmate recognition and mate choice in this species.
During my PhD, I studied variations in social structures, conflict resolution and nestmate recognition in ants. My research showed that in the ant Formica selysi, variation in colony social structure was associated with chemical signatures on eggs and workers, and to the size of newly produced queens (through genetical or maternal compounds). By contrast, the number of queen per colony did not influence the mode of colony foundation or the tolerance of resident workers towards additional queens. In addition, the elimination rate of worker-produced eggs (worker policing) was also independent from the number of queen. I also showed that the selective elimination of foreign queen-laid eggs by resident workers was strongly associated with social origin of eggs, rather than the one of workers, possibly through specific chemical signatures. Finally, using meta-analysis method, I showed that conflicts resolution was influenced by variation in colony social structures among social Hymenoptera.
| Born 1982 in Montpellier, France | |
| 2009-present | Postdoctoral fellow, University of Basel, Switzerland, with Mathias Kölliker |
| 2005-2009 | PhD in Life Sciences, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, Supervised by Michel Chapuisat |
| 2004-2005 | M.Sc (Master 2R) "Ecology, Biodiversity and Evolution", Universites Paris VI and XI, France |
| 2000-2004 | B.Sc. (DEUG, Licence, Maitrise) in Biology, University Montpellier II, Montpellier, France |
| 12. | Meunier J, Wong J, Gomez Y, Kuttler S, Röllin L, Stucki D & Kölliker M. (in press) One clutch or two clutches? Fitness correlates of coexisting alternative female life-histories in the European earwig Evolutionary Ecology (Online access) |
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2011 |
11. | Mas F, Meunier J, & Kölliker M. (2011) A new function of hydrocarbons in insect communication: maternal care and offspring signalling in the European earwig Chimia 65:9, 744 |
| 10. | Meunier J (2011) Can multiple pathways mediate the influence of queen number on nestmate discrimination in ants? Communicative and Integrative Biology 4(5), 609-611 |
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| 09. | Meunier J, Delemont O. & Lucas C. (2011) Recognition in ants: social origin matters PLoS ONE 6(5): e19347. |
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| 08. | Meunier J*, Fingueiredo Pinto S*, Burri R & Roulin A. (2011, * Authors contributed equally) Eumelanin-based coloration and fitness parameters in birds: a meta-analysis Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 65, 559-567. |
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| 07. | Meunier J, Reber A & Chapuisat M. (2011) Queen acceptance in a socially polymorphic ant Animal Behaviour 81, 163-168. |
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2010 |
06. | Masclaux F, Hammond R, Meunier J, Gouhier-Darimont C, Keller L & Reymond P. (2010) Competitive ability not kinship affects growth of Arabidopsis thaliana accessions New Phytologist 185(1), 322-331. |
| 05. | Meunier J, Delaplace L & Chapuisat M. (2010) Reproductive conflicts and egg discrimination in a socially polymorphic ant Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 64(10), 1655-1663. |
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| 04. | Reber A, Meunier J & Chapuisat M. (2010) Flexible colony founding strategies in a socially polymorphic ant Animal Behaviour 78, 467-472. |
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2009 |
03. | Meunier J & Chapuisat M. (2009) The determinants of queen size in a socially polymorphic ant Journal of Evolutionary Biology 22, 1906-1913. |
2008 |
02. | Hölzer B, Meunier J, Keller L & Chapuisat M. (2008) Stay or drift? Queen acceptance in the ant Formica paralugubris Insectes sociaux 55, 392-396. |
| 01. | Meunier J, West SA & Chapuisat M. (2008) Split sex ratios in the social Hymenoptera: a meta-analysis Behavioral Ecology 19, 382-390. |
==> For updated information, see my personal webpage: https://sites.google.com/site/meunierjoel/