PLEASE NOTE: Things will look a little different in The Cellar due to staffing shortages and schedule changes. The event is capped at 70 people. Tables and seats are available to reserve at a small cost, which goes towards the Lakers and FLBS’s education and outreach programs. Tables are spaced out, but seats at a table are not socially-distanced. The bar will be open in The Cellar, but food will only be available upstairs. Thank you for understanding the changes.
Extreme Weapons: A Natural History with Doug Emlen
Every animal has a weapon of one sort or another, but the overwhelming majority of weapons stay small. Yet, sprinkled through the tree of life are species where weapons become extreme. Occasionally, human manufactured weapons also evolve to extremes. Emlen reveals that the same critical conditions trigger arms races in both cases, and the most crucial prerequisite is duels. A journey that begins with biology becomes the story of all weapons, as Emlen discusses beetles and battleships, crabs and the Cold War.
Doug Emlen is a regents professor of biology at the University of Montana. His research has been featured in The New York Times, National Public Radio’s Fresh Air, Science Friday, YouTube’s SciShow, Steve Rinella’s MeatEater, and he recently starred in documentaries about his work on BBC (Nature’s Wildest Weapons) and NOVA (Extreme Animal Weapons). His first narrative nonfiction book for young adults, Beetle Battles: One Scientist’s Journey of Adventure and Discovery (Roaring Brook Press) appeared on shelves in 2020.
