Understanding Ant Overwintering under Climate Change and Urbanization

Chelsea Miller, Ph.D., The University of Akron Department of Biology

Project Description:

We are looking for an undergraduate student to join our team this spring and summer as part of UA’s Tiered Mentoring (TM) program. You’ll work alongside an existing team of TM students and graduate students to study how climate change and urbanization are reshaping ant survival strategies. These processes, including overwintering and summer foraging, are critical for forest ecosystems because ants are both sensitive indicators of environmental change and key players in maintaining ecosystem health through roles such as nutrient cycling, soil turnover, and seed dispersal. Understanding how they respond to altered climatic conditions help us predict broader ecosystem impacts.

Students will receive hands-on training in:

• Field collection of ant colonies across sites
• Colony rearing and maintenance in a laboratory setting
• Deployment and monitoring of experimental warming chambers
• Behavioral and survival data collection
• Ecological data management and analysis
• Scientific writing and oral presentation of research

Although your primary focus will be ecological research, there will also be opportunities to gain exposure to experimental design, data visualization, and discussions linking behavior to physiology and climate-driven range shifts.

Our warming experiments use custom-built open-air chambers that simulate warmer winters (+3°C and +5°C) across habitat types. Ant colonies are placed in containers with natural nest materials (acorns, hickories, walnuts) and 3D-printed ant nest models. These chambers allow colonies to experience natural weather conditions, while incorporating controlled warming treatments.

Expectations:

As a Tiered Mentoring student in our lab, you will:

• Help monitor colonies twice a week throughout experimental seasons
• Collect data on survival, nest choice, foraging and behavior to track how different species and populations respond to altered climatic conditions.
• Learn how to collect, rear and maintain ant colonies in a laboratory setting.

This position requires a time commitment of around 5-6 hours per week, and is a great chance to gain meaningful research experience in ecology while contributing to important questions about how small but vital forest organisms interact with our rapidly changing environment. We are looking to recruit this spring, particularly for work taking place this summer, with the hope of retaining the student for multiple semesters thereafter.