Research in the Penick Lab focuses on understanding how insects respond to environmental change. We use comparative approaches to identify the traits that allow some species to thrive under changing conditions while others decline. Our research integrates ecology, physiology, behavior, and evolution, with particular emphasis on urbanization, biological invasions, climate change, and disease. We work with a broad variety of insects, especially ants and other social insects, across ecosystems ranging from remote tropical forests to the sidewalks of New York City.