Reserve the last Tuesday of each month to hear from some of the leading minds in science today. Massey University Auckland scientists and guest speakers take you into the fascinating world of scientific discoveries.
Most lectures are held on the Massey Auckland campus in the Sir Neil Waters lecture theatre. See map on the right.
Lectures start at 7pm. Light refreshments are served after the talk.
Most humans have the sense that males and females look different. But we are hardly unique; in fact, many animals exhibit sex differences in appearance that are truly extreme. Deep-sea anglerfish, parasitic barnacles, reef fish and elephant seals all exhibit remarkable sex differences, whereas comb jellies, clams, yellowfin tuna and emperor penguins all look about the same. What explanation can exist for extreme sexual differentiation in some species, and its virtual absence in others?
Animals use sounds for fighting, flirting, group coordination, signalling identity, scaring off predators and more. Some species develop their sounds automatically. Others (like humans and songbirds) must learn by listening and imitating—which leads to the interesting phenomenon of dialects. Dr Webb will take us on a tour of the astonishing diversity of acoustic communication in animals. Demonstrating a brand new tool called Koe that lets you analyse animal vocalisations right in your browser (koe.io.ac.nz), Dr Webb will reveal some surprises about male and female song dialects in New Zealand bellbirds. Brace yourself for weird and wonderful animal sounds!"
Find out more about previous speakers and their topics.
Massey University offers study programmes at the undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Massey University demands excellence in our research.We bring together world-leading experts from several disciplines to further knowledge and make a difference in New Zealand and the world.
We are keen to hear your thoughts about this series and ideas about topics you are interested in.
All lectures take place from 7–8.30pm unless noted otherwise.
Sir Neil Waters Lecture Theatre
Massey University Auckland, Albany