For thirty years, the invasive fire ant, Solenopsis invicta, has been Dr. Cassill’s animal of choice for studying two avenues of research: First, the evolution of cooperative societies composed of family units. Second, the rich emotional lives of animals.

Recently, Dr. Cassill published a model that explains diversified maternal investments in birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and sharks. She has well over 50
publications in premier science journals in biology and economics. Dr. Cassill is currently working on a book, Survival of the Misfits, that extends Darwin’s theory of natural selection to explain the fusion of populations into cooperative societies as well as the fission of populations into diverse species.