Termites are important decomposers, provide habitat for other organisms in soil food webs, and impact both above- and below-ground systems.
My research focuses on the reproductive biology, ecology, and evolution of termites, utilizing a variety of methods, including microscopy, behaviour analysis, and molecular techniques, to address a range of ecological and evolutionary questions.

Potential student projects could investigate:
- Communities within termite nests
- Termite gut microbiomes
- Mate choice
- Division of labor
- Dispersal
- Taxonomy and phylogenetics

Publications:

Costs of pleometrosis in a polygamous termite. 2013. T.R. Hartke, R.B. Rosengaus. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 280(1756):20122563.

Mate preference and disease risk in the dampwood termite, Zootermopsis angusticollis. 2011. R.B. Rosengaus, L.-T. James, T.R. Hartke, C.S. Brent. Environmental Entomology, 40(6):1554-1565.

The mating biology of termites: a comparative review. 2011. T.R. Hartke, B. Baer. Animal Behaviour, 82(5):927-936.

Heterospecific pairing and hybridization between Nasutitermes corniger and N. ephratae. 2011. T.R. Hartke, R.B. Rosengaus. Naturwissenschaften, 98(9):745-753. DOI 10.1007/s00114-011-0823-y

Speleonectes williamsi, a new species of Remipedia (Crustacea) from the Bahamas. 2011. T.R. Hartke, S. Koenemann, J. Yager. Zootaxa, 3115:21-28.

Morphological and molecular analyses of closely-related species in the stygobiontic genus Niphargus (Amphipoda). 2011. T.R. Hartke, C. Fiser, J. Hohagen, S. Kleber, R. Hartmann, and S. Koenemann. Journal of Crustacean Biology. 31(4): 701-709. DOI 10.1651/10-3434.1

Global biodiversity and phylogenetic evaluation of Remipedia (Crustacea). M.T. Neiber, T.R. Hartke, T. Stemme, A. Bergmann, J. Rust, T.M. Iliffe, S. Koenemann. PloS One World Register of Marine Species Special Collection, 6(5): e19627. DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0019627