Biological Sciences Colloquium: Dr. Judith Smit

Dr. Judith Smit, NOMIS-STRI postdoctoral fellow, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panamá will present a talk about her work entitled, ‘Communication in changing environments: urban túngara frogs & vibrationally duetting treehoppers‘

The Abstract is as Follows: Animals have evolved elaborate sexual signals, including songs, dances and substrate-borne vibrations, to attract and localize mates. Finding a mate is essential for reproduction, but is challenging in a complex and changing world. Urbanization is an example of drastic environmental change, with animals needing to deal with interference from sensory pollutants, such as artificial light at night and anthropogenic noise. On a smaller scale, animals can interact with different conspecifics that potentially vary greatly in their phenotypes. Feedback from and adjustments to conspecifics can shape sexual communication. Focusing on urban túngara frogs and vibrationally duetting treehoppers, my research explores how animals adjust their sexual communication to environmental changes.

The presentation will begin at 3:00 PM in Lapham Hall N101, preceded by an informal reception from 2:45 – 3:00PM.