Science Under the Stars: 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 Ph.D. 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.

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.