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Unit of Social Ecology (USE)

Faculty of Sciences | Biology of Organisms

(Code: ULB630)


Person in charge of the unit : DETRAIN Claire.

The Unit is interested in the organisation of animal societies and study their underlying  physiological and  ethological mechanisms as well as the
adaptative value of collective patterns put in an ecological perspective.  Both experimental and theoretical studies are mainly conducted  on social insects
(ants, honeybees,...) but also on presocial/gregarious animal species as well as on societies of artificial agents (microrobots).  We identify the generic rules
that shape spatial structures ( trail network, nest construction,...), temporal  patterns (activity rythms,...) and social organization (division of
labour, task specialization,...).  The practical issues of this research involve the development of new modalities to control animal populations as well as the
assessment of their impact on the environment (e.g. impact of ant fauna on vegetation,...).

Campus : Campus de la Plaine
Location : Campus Plaine, Bat NO, niv.5
Address : CP231 Bruxelles
Phone number : +32-2-650.60.12 (secrétariat)
E-mail : cdetrain@ulb.be, sserrano@ulb.be
Web site : http://use.ulb.ac.be/wordpress/