Science Under the Stars: Rare Plants Around the World

Plants are fascinating creatures that, compared to animals, cannot move around (sessile). Along with the surrounding environment and the fact that they cannot move, plants have developed bizarre and specialized mechanisms that have allow them to establish and persist through time in most environments around the globe. During this talk, you will take a virtual trip around the world to learn about some of these different unusual adaptations that make some of these plants very unique. Understanding these adaptations not only deepens our appreciation for plants and these species but also can helps us guide some conservation efforts. After all, we cannot save what we do not know.

Zarluis Mijango Ramos is a 5th year Ph.D. student at UT Austin. Broadly, his research entails the study of ecological and evolutionary chemical interactions using the Juglandaceae plant family (Walnuts), which includes the chemical community effect of a monodominant (O. mexicanna) species on subordinates species in western Panama, and the effect of climatic variables on the chemical evolution and intraspecific chemical variation. He is from Panama where he did his bachelor’s degree in tropical Botany and received an M.S. from the Plant Biology department at UIUC. Outside of research, Zarluis enjoys watching sports, spending time with his cats and foster dogs (if he has) at home and loves cycling and cooking.

Schedule:

• 7:00 pm: Kid’s activities and natural history displays
• 7:15 pm: Guided tour of Brackenridge Field Laboratory
• 8:00 pm: Talk begins
• 8:45 pm: Q&A with speaker

The talk will be held outdoors at Brackenridge Field Laboratory. 

Science Under the Stars is a free public outreach lecture series in Austin, Texas run by UT graduate students. Events are held outdoors at Brackenridge Field Laboratory, 2907 Lake Austin Blvd, Austin, Texas 78703. Find schedules and links for each event on the SUtS blog, Instagram, X/Twitter and YouTube channel, or sign up on their listserv to get event notifications.