Matina Donaldson-Matasci

Research

Interests Positions
Postdoctoral research associate. Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, July 2009–present.
Research topic: The value of honeybee communication in a variable ecological context
Research group: Social Insect Lab (Anna Dornhaus)

Postdoctoral associate. Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, June 2008–June 2009.
Research topic: Information and evolution in biological systems
Research group: Theoretical Biology (Michael Lachmann)
Education
Ph.D. in Biology, The University of Washington, 2008
Dissertation: Adaptation in a changing environment: Phenotypic plasticity in response to environmental uncertainty and information
Advisor: Carl Bergstrom

B.A. in Mathematics, Reed College, 1996
Thesis: Tiling with Dominoes, on relations between group theory and graph theory
Advisor: Joe Buhler
Publications
Donaldson-Matasci, M. C., C. T. Bergstrom, and M. Lachmann. (in press) The fitness value of information.
Oikos (special issue on "Ecology of Information.")
Donaldson-Matasci, M. C. (2008) Adaptation in a changing environment: Phenotypic diversity in response to environmental uncertainty and information.
Dissertation, University of Washington.
Donaldson-Matasci, M.C., M. Lachmann and C.T. Bergstrom. (2008) Phenotypic diversity as an adaptation to environmental uncertainty.
Evolutionary Ecology Research, 10 (4): 493–515.
Donaldson, M.C., M. Lachmann and C.T. Bergstrom. (2007) The evolution of functionally referential meaning in a structured world.
Journal of Theoretical Biology, 246 (2): 225–233.
Presentations
Donaldson-Matasci, M.C., C.T. Bergstrom and M. Lachmann. (2008) Developmental plasticity: The value of information in a cue depends on the structure of errors.
Contributed talk, Evolution Conference. Minneapolis, MN.
Donaldson-Matasci, M.C., M. Lachmann and C.T. Bergstrom. (2007) A geometric view of adaptation in uncertain environments.
Poster, European Society for Evolutionary Biology Congress. Uppsala, Sweden.
Donaldson-Matasci, M.C., M. Lachmann and C.T. Bergstrom. (2007) Specialists and generalists: adapting to environmental risk..
Visiting speaker, Working Group on Game Theory and Evolution. Institute for Advanced Studies, Jerusalem, Israel.
Donaldson, M.C., C.T. Bergstrom and M. Lachmann. (2006) Making the best of bad cues.
Poster, International Society for Behavioural Ecology Congress. Tours, France.
Donaldson, M.C., C.T. Bergstrom and M. Lachmann. (2004) The evolution of referential meaning in communication systems.
Contributed talk, Evolution Conference. Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
Donaldson, M.C. (2003) A game theoretic analysis of the evolution of communication systems.
Invited speaker, Workshop on the Evolution of Meaning. Institute for Logic, Language and Computation, University of Amsterdam.
Workshops and Symposia Attended
Evolution, Game Theory, & the Social Contract, University of California at Irvine, USA March 27–29, 2009
Complex Systems Summer School, Santa Fe Institute, June 4–30, 2006
The Nature of Human Cooperation, University of Lausanne, Switzerland, March 9–10, 2006
CEEL program in Adaptive Economic Dynamics, University of Trento, Italy, 13–24 June, 2005

Teaching

Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Winter 2003
Conducted two lab sections of an introductory biology course for majors.
Teaching Assistant, University of Washington, Fall 2002
Conducted two lab sections of an introductory biology course for non-majors.
Math Tutor, Reed College, Spring 1995
Weekly open tutoring session for students in introductory math courses.
Physics Lab Instructor, Reed College, Spring 1994
Prepared, conducted, and graded one section of introductory physics labs.
Physics Grader, Reed College, Fall 1992–Spring 1993
Graded homework problem sets for introductory physics.

Honors and Achievements