Research Projects

This project aims to compare and contrast the use of geomaterials by termites and potter wasps in construction of soil nests. Potter wasps have smaller nests, often built defiance of gravity, subtended from vegetation, ceilings, walls, or windows, while termite mounds are consolidated under gravity with denser bases and less dense upper portions. The researchers will explore how potter wasps modify soil and construct their nests to effect appropriate cementation or cohesion between soil particles. They will select two model potter wasp species with contrasting nest forms and adherent to different surfaces and conduct geomechanical tests on their nests, using micro-compression testing, porosity and gas exchange tests using MEMS sensors, behavioral observations on soil mass transfer, and the time and conditions needed for complete nest construction. The study will also examine the weathering resistance of potter wasp nests to water erosion and whether low-resistant nests are built in sheltered or exposed sites. To validate their results on termites, they will examine the mounds built by the fungus-growing termite Odontotermes obesus in Bangalore red soils and compare necessary and sufficient geoengineering and behavioral criteria. By comparing geomaterial use at different scales by different organisms, the researchers aim to set down general principles for the use of geomaterials by animals.