First Neighborhood Science of the Semester!
Claire Hemingway – Brainy bats: strategies for finding food in the jungle at night
Bats are remarkable in their diversity. Over 1300 species of bats can be found in every continent, except Antarctica. They come in a variety of different sizes, shapes, and colors They also eat many different things such as fruit, nectar, insects, frogs, and fish. Because many bats have to find their food at night, they have evolved a whole suite of different hunting strategies. The brains of these impressive animals have been shaped for a long time to allow bats to find and remember where food is. I will cover just a handful of examples of the ways in which these animals have come up with solutions for finding food at night.
Science Under the Stars has expanded to include the Austin Public Library! At Neighborhood Science, previous SUTS speakers will present at different library branches around the city a couple times a month. This fun free talk for people of all ages will be held at the Howson Branch Library (2500 Exposition Blvd) on Tuesday, January 28th starting at 7:30pm. Q&A will follow the talk.
Neighborhood Science at Twin Oaks Branch Library
Science Under the Stars has expanded to include the Austin Public Library! At Neighborhood Science, previous SUTS speakers will present at different library branches around the city a couple times a month. Below are the dates and descriptions for this fall at the Twin Oaks Branch Library, 1800 S 5th St, Austin, TX 78704. All talks begin at 7pm.
A Sweat Bee native to Texas covered in pollen. credit: Alejandro Santillana, Insects Unlocked
Thursday, October 3, 7pm: Megan O’Connell – “Bees go grocery shopping”
Leafcutter ants defending their nest against an army ant. Credit: Alex Wild Photography
Thursday, November 7, 7pm: Tristan Kubik – “Clash of the Myrmidons”
The Amazon rainforest is home to two unexpected titans. Leafcutter ants are peaceful, sedentary farmers responsible for processing huge volumes of tropical vegetation. They use their foraging material to cultivate obligate, fungal nurseries that cradle precious brood deep within their subterranean fortresses. Few organisms are courageous or capable enough to threaten mature leafcutter colonies, but the tank army ant is one of them. Tank army ants are nomadic, subterranean ant-killing machines. Their colonies can reach as many as several million and their hunger for leafcutters is insatiable. They flush out and overwhelm kilograms of prey every day with their numbers, mandibles, and venomous stings. And yet, leafcutter nests are not without defenses. Leafcutter colonies rapidly mount impressive responses to the alarming presence of tank army ant scouts including specialized soldiers, construction of barricades, and air-tight linear battlefronts. These two large, complex, derived societies clash in epic battles akin to the wars waged long ago by the Greeks and Romans with heroes just as notable as Hercules and Achilles. Such examples of social conflict are of great interest to systems science and parallels can be drawn to instances of immune systems vs disease, competing economies, and even human warfare. Join me for a night of bravery, sacrifice, and storytelling as I share my passion and knowledge about this riveting rivalry!
Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa), an all-female clonal fish
Thursday, December 5, 7pm: Allison Davis – “How to get a date: story of a clone”
Neighborhood Science at Howson Branch Library
Science Under the Stars has expanded to include the Austin Public Library! At Neighborhood Science, previous SUTS speakers will present at different library branches around the city a couple times a month. Below are the dates and descriptions for this fall at the Howson Branch Library, 2500 Exposition Blvd, Austin, TX 78703. All talks begin at 7:30pm. **These talks will be held outdoors, so bring a chair!
A Sweat Bee native to Texas covered in pollen. credit: Alejandro Santillana, Insects Unlocked
Tuesday, September 24, 7:30pm: Megan O’Connell – “Bees go grocery shopping”
Bats use sonar to see. Credit: Uwe Schmidt
Tuesday, October 29, 7:30pm: Caitlin Leslie – “Sensory Superheroes: Extreme Animal Sensory Systems”
Tuesday, November 26, 7:30pm: Chase Rakowski – “Plankton: the little alien-like creatures that might save us all”
Leafcutter ants defending their nest against an army ant. Credit: Alex Wild Photography
The Amazon rainforest is home to two unexpected titans. Leafcutter ants are peaceful, sedentary farmers responsible for processing huge volumes of tropical vegetation. They use their foraging material to cultivate obligate, fungal nurseries that cradle precious brood deep within their subterranean fortresses. Few organisms are courageous or capable enough to threaten mature leafcutter colonies, but the tank army ant is one of them. Tank army ants are nomadic, subterranean ant-killing machines. Their colonies can reach as many as several million and their hunger for leafcutters is insatiable. They flush out and overwhelm kilograms of prey every day with their numbers, mandibles, and venomous stings. And yet, leafcutter nests are not without defenses. Leafcutter colonies rapidly mount impressive responses to the alarming presence of tank army ant scouts including specialized soldiers, construction of barricades, and air-tight linear battlefronts. These two large, complex, derived societies clash in epic battles akin to the wars waged long ago by the Greeks and Romans with heroes just as notable as Hercules and Achilles. Such examples of social conflict are of great interest to systems science and parallels can be drawn to instances of immune systems vs disease, competing economies, and even human warfare. Join me for a night of bravery, sacrifice, and storytelling as I share my passion and knowledge about this riveting rivalry!
May 16th Neighborhood Science
Science Under the Stars has expanded to include the Austin Public Library! At Neighborhood Science, previous SUTS speakers will present at different library branches around the city a couple times a month.
Sarah Barfield – Permaculture principles in the sustainable food movement
Demand for sustainable, locally produced food is growing across the U.S. This movement has led to a resurgence in local farmer’s markets, urban gardening, and farms utilizing sustainable soil practices guided by permaculture principles. The results of these past and ongoing efforts to produce sustainable food have to led to incredible examples of abused land that has been restored to healthy and productive farm ecosystems. Come join us at Science Under the Stars this month if you want to learn about permaculture principles, soil biology and ecology, and more!
-
Thursday, May 16th, 7:30pm at the Twin Oaks Branch, 1800 S 5th St, Austin, TX 78704
More Neighborhood Science!
Science Under the Stars has expanded to include the Austin Public Library! At Neighborhood Science, previous SUTS speakers will present at different library branches around the city a couple times a month.
Two species of flamingo on a lake in Africa (Torres et al., 2014)
April 9: Chris Torres – Evolution of the flamingo’s smile
-
April 9, 7pm at the Howson Branch Library, 2500 Exposition Blvd, Austin, TX 78703 **This talk will be held outdoors, so bring a chair!
Tree frogs do not only live in trees. Photo: D. Correa
May 14: Decio Correa – All about frogs (and toads!)
-
May 14, 7pm at the Howson Branch Library, 2500 Exposition Blvd, Austin, TX 78703 **This talk will be held outdoors, so bring a chair!
Science Under The Stars 