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Daniel Kronauer works in an unconventional model organism to understand physiology and behavior in social insects. Working with colonies and genetically engineered isogenic strains of the clonal raider ant Ooceraea biroi, Kronauer and his team are investigating a set of interrelated questions to provide insight into the complexities of sensory systems and the neurobiological basis of behavior. The team is studying the genetic and epigenetic principles and neuromodulatory and circuit-level mechanisms underlying the differentiation of ants into “castes.” In addition, they are examining the evolution of the ant chemosensory system and exploring how social interactions between differentiated ants give rise to adaptive phenomena at the colony level.