The “Evolution” of Evolution: How the theory of evolution has changed over time

From flying bugs to swimming whales, from microscopic bacteria to giant redwood trees, evolution has shaped every aspect of the living world around us. But what does evolution actually “mean”, and how does it work? The famous work of Darwin and Mendel laid the foundation, and plenty of more modern ideas have contributed to how we think about evolution. In this talk, Matt will describe how our thinking about evolutionary theory has changed, and how scientists are continuing to learn more about this all-important force of nature and protect the state’s remarkable biodiversity as conditions continue to change.

Matt Ming is a 5th year PhD candidate in the Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior program at UT. Matt is broadly interested in population genetics and evolution, and is currently investigating how selection may differ between males and females. Outside of research, he enjoys watching movies, rock climbing, and playing chess.

This month Science Under the Stars is collaborating with the Texas Science Festival! Swag will be provided during the event. For more information on Texas Science Festival visit here.

Lecture Schedule

• 7:00 pm: Kid’s activities and natural history displays
• 7:15 pm – 7:45 pm: Guided tour of the Brackenridge Field Laboratory (sturdy shoes and water recommended!)
• 8:00 pm: The talk begins!
• 8:45 pm: Q&A with the speaker

📍 Location: Brackenridge Field Laboratory, 2907 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin, Texas 78703
💡 No RSVP is required – just show up and enjoy!
🅿️ Free parking is available at BFL for all lecture events!
🌦️ While we aim to host all events outdoors, sometimes weather conditions or volunteer capacity may require that we move the event inside the laboratory building.

Follow us on our Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, or email us to stay updated on event-specific details. We look forward to seeing you at our events! ✨

Changing Birds in a Changing Texas: How birds respond to human-driven environmental change

Texas is a BIG state facing a number of BIG environmental changes. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns, and human development are reshaping ecosystems that plants and animals depend on. Birds respond quickly to environmental change, making them important indicators of human impacts. On January 15th, we’ll explore how different species in Texas are adapting, declining, or shifting their ranges, and what those responses might tell us about the future. Understanding these patterns helps us protect the state’s remarkable biodiversity as conditions continue to change.

Brian Stokes is a PhD student at the University of Texas at Austin who studies how birds across Texas and North America are responding to a rapidly changing world. He investigates how species adapt or struggle as their habitats warm and shift. Brian uses everything from community science observations on apps like eBird and iNaturalist to genomic tools to understand how birds are coping, from big range changes to tiny DNA-level adjustments. One of his current projects focuses on the Green Jay, a vibrant tropical bird expanding its range northward into Texas.

Lecture Schedule

• 7:00 pm: Kid’s activities and natural history displays
• 7:15 pm – 7:45 pm: Guided tour of the Brackenridge Field Laboratory (sturdy shoes and water recommended!)
• 8:00 pm: The talk begins!
• 8:45 pm: Q&A with the speaker

📍 Location: Brackenridge Field Laboratory, 2907 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin, Texas 78703
💡 No RSVP is required – just show up and enjoy!
🅿️ Free parking is available at BFL for all lecture events!
🌦️ While we aim to host all events outdoors, sometimes weather conditions or volunteer capacity may require that we move the event inside the laboratory building.

Follow us on our Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, or email us to stay updated on event-specific details. We look forward to seeing you at our events! ✨

There Are Many Ways to Find A Mate

Finding and choosing mates can be complicated, and many species have evolved diverse strategies to do this successfully. There are species where one male mates with multiple females but also species that pair bond for life. While many species have some sort of courtship and female choice, there are others where mating is a much “sneakier” affair. Variation in mating behaviors can also exist within the same species. In this talk, we will learn about some of the cool mating systems and strategies of the animal kingdom, and discuss some explanations about how and why this variation comes about in the first place.

Sunishka Thakur is a fifth year PhD student at UT Austin studying alternative male reproductive tactics in a swordtail fish. She explores how behavior, physiology and neurobiology can be shaped by different mating behaviors used by males to mate with females. She also studies how females respond to these alternative mating strategies and how it affects their behavior and physiology.

Lecture Schedule

• 7:00 pm: Kid’s activities and natural history displays
• 7:15 pm – 7:45 pm: Guided tour of the Brackenridge Field Laboratory (sturdy shoes and water recommended!)
• 8:00 pm: The talk begins!
• 8:45 pm: Q&A with the speaker

📍 Location: Brackenridge Field Laboratory, 2907 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin, Texas 78703
💡 No RSVP is required – just show up and enjoy!
🅿️ Free parking is available at BFL for all lecture events!
🌦️ While we aim to host all events outdoors, sometimes weather conditions or volunteer capacity may require that we move the event inside the laboratory building.

Follow us on our Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, or email us to stay updated on event-specific details. We look forward to seeing you at our events! ✨

Genital Schmenital! The complexities of biological sex

What is biological sex? Is it our chromosomes? What’s in our pants? And if there’s only two sexes, why do so many animals exist outside this binary categorization? We’re taught two sexes exist and are significantly different from each other, but we also know biological sex is really messy and complicated. Throughout the animal kingdom, we see variation at chromosomes, physiology (hormones), gonadal structure and gamete production, body shape, and in behavior. These different organizational levels align and collide in as many ways as the colors in a kaleidoscope to give rise to the incredible sex diversity and variation we see in nature! Join Savvy for this all-ages talk about sex, from genomes to behavior, and the amazing diversity of animals existing contently in its complexities.

On November 13th, why don’t you come up to the lab—Brackenridge Field Lab—and see what’s on the slab—the big white projection screen? We’ll leave you shivering with antici—because it’s finally gotten a bit nippy outside, right? Like, fall is finally here—pation.

Savvy Cornett (they/them) is a PhD student at UT Austin studying how nutrition regulates reproductive physiology and behavior in a small freshwater fish, Páunco Swordtail (Xiphophorus nigrensis). This little fish has 4 different morphological sexes, who vary by their puberty timing, giving rise to variation in body shape and size and their mating behavior. Typically, nutritional status (how well fed an animal is) regulates reproduction: individuals reach puberty earlier when they intake more nutrients. Savvy’s research focuses on the evolutionarily ancient hormones regulating all this because how the reproductive hormones interact with the nutrition hormones, and vice versa, is poorly understood especially in this strange little fish.

Lecture Schedule

• 7:00 pm: Kid’s activities and natural history displays
• 7:15 pm – 7:45 pm: Guided tour of the Brackenridge Field Laboratory (sturdy shoes and water recommended!)
• 8:00 pm: The talk begins!
• 8:45 pm: Q&A with the speaker

📍 Location: Brackenridge Field Laboratory, 2907 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin, Texas 78703
💡 No RSVP is required – just show up and enjoy!
🅿️ Free parking is available at BFL for all lecture events!
🌦️ While we aim to host all events outdoors, sometimes weather conditions or volunteer capacity may require that we move the event inside the laboratory building.

Follow us on our Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, or email us to stay updated on event-specific details. We look forward to seeing you at our events! ✨