Distinguished Professor Judith Bronstein from the University of Arizona will present a lecture titled “Why Cooperate? Mutualism in the Natural World” at UC Davis as part of the Storer Public Lecture series. The event is scheduled for Wednesday, January 28, from 4:10 to 5 p.m. in the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) Ballroom A. Attendance is free, but those wishing to join via Zoom must register.
Bronstein is recognized internationally for her work in ecology and evolutionary biology. She has been a faculty member at the University of Arizona since 1989 and focuses on mutualism—the study of mutually beneficial interactions among species, such as pollination and seed dispersal. She explains, “Biologists have always been fascinated by strife and conflict, but cooperative exchanges, involving all species and networking large numbers of them into complex communities, are ubiquitous in the natural world. This talk will describe our current understanding of mutualism as well as the questions that remain to be answered.”
Her research uses field observations and experiments to explore how different factors affect these interactions. According to Bronstein, “Using a combination of field observations and experiments, I investigate how population processes, abiotic conditions and community context determine net effects of the interactions for the fitness of each participant species.” She adds that her interests include conflicts between mutualists, context-dependent outcomes in both mutualisms and antagonisms, conservation threats to mutualisms, restoration mechanisms for disrupted interactions, and issues related to cheating within mutualistic relationships.
Bronstein’s academic background includes a bachelor’s degree from Brown University and both master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Michigan. Her doctoral research focused on fig-pollinator wasp mutualism—a classic example where all fig trees are pollinated by small wasps from the family Agaonidae.
She has held leadership roles such as president of the American Society of Naturalists and served on editorial boards for scientific journals including The American Naturalist. Bronstein has received awards including recognition from the Ecological Society of America and a Distinguished Service Award from the National Science Foundation.
The Storer Lectureship was established in 1960 at UC Davis to bring distinguished biological scientists to campus for lectures and meetings with faculty members and graduate students. Past speakers have included Nobel laureates and members of national academies.
In addition to her public lecture, Bronstein will give a peer lecture titled “Dissolving Boundaries Toward Unification in the Study of Species Interactions” on Thursday, January 29 at 3:10 p.m., also in ARC Ballroom A.
