November 13th, Savvy Cornett

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.

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