Nobuaki Mizumoto

EDUCATION

• 2018: Doctor of Agricultural Science, Kyoto University
• 2015: Master of Agricultural Science, Kyoto University
• 2013: Bachelor of Agriculture, Kyoto University

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

• 2024-Present: Assistant Professor, Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, Auburn University
• 2023: Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Scholar Fellowship, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
• 2020-2023: JSPS Research Fellow CPD, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
• 2020: JSPS Research Fellow SPD, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology
• 2018-2020: JSPS Overseas Research Fellow, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University
• 2015-2018: JSPS Research Fellow DC1, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University

HONORS & AWARDS

• 2024: Christopher Barnard Award for 2024, The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour (ASAB)
• 2021: 37th Inoue Research Award for Young Scientists
• 2021: Young Scholar Award of the Ecological Society of Japan (ESJ Suzuki Award)
• 2020: Japan Ethological Society Award
• 2020: Young Scientist Initiative Award, Society of Evolutionary Studies, Japan
• 2018: Ikushi Prize, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

Termite – Collective behavior – Evolution

We study nest construction and movement coordination in termites, asking how collective-level phenomena are regulated by individual-level behaviors and how behavioral coordination has evolved in the history of life. Our research is based on detailed behavioral observations and the life history of each termite species but extends the analysis to multiple species in a phylogenetic context to understand their environmental adaptation and evolutionary process.

SELECT PUBLICATIONS

• Mizumoto N.*, Hellemans S., Engel M. S., Bourguignon T. & Buček A.* (2024) Extinct and extant termites reveal the fidelity of behavior fossilization in amber. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (in press)
• Mizumoto N.#*, Tanaka Y.#, Valentini G., Richardson O. T., Annagiri S., Pratt. C. S. & Shimoji H. (2023) Functional and mechanistic diversity in ant tandem runs. iScience, 26(4):106418, DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.106418
• Mizumoto N.*, Bourguignon T., & Bailey W. N. (2022) Ancestral sex-role plasticity facilitates the evolution of same-sex sexual behavior. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 119(46):e2212401119, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2212401119
• Mizumoto N.*, Bourguignon T. & Kanao T. (2022) Termite nest evolution fostered social parasitism by termitophilous rove beetles. Evolution, 76(5):1064-1072, DOI:10.1111/evo.14457
• Mizumoto N.* & Bourguignon T. The evolution of body size in termites. (2021) Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 288: 20211458, DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.1458
• Mizumoto N.*, Lee S.B., Valentini G., Chouvenc T. & Pratt S.C. (2021) Coordination of movement via complementary interactions of leaders and followers in termite mating pairs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 288:20210998, DOI:10.1098/rspb.2021.0998
• Mizumoto N.*, Bardunias P.M. & Pratt S.C. (2020) Complex relationship between tunneling patterns and individual behaviors in termites. American Naturalist, 196(5): 555-565, DOI:10.1086/711020
• Mizumoto N.* & Dobata S. Adaptive switch to sexually dimorphic movements by partner-seeking termites. (2019) Science Advances 5: eaau6108 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau6108