First Fridays - April 3, 2009 | Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
Listen to the April 2009 Lecture
Listen to the lecture “Darwin's Other Great Theory: Sexual Selection, or Why Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus?” with Dr. Michael J. Ryan.
[ 31MB .mp3 ]
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Museum Scientists on Evolution
The Natural History Museum, with its mission to inspire wonder, discovery, and responsibility, recognizes that evolutionary biology is fundamental to understanding biological diversity and is critical for both scientific research and museums. The Museum welcomes people of all beliefs and backgrounds to join us as we explore, through science, the wonders of the natural world.
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First Fridays April 3, 2009
“Darwin's Other Great Theory: Sexual Selection, or Why Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus?” with Dr. Michael J. Ryan
Darwin's is best known for his theory of natural selection which explains how organisms evolve adaptations for survival. His second theory, sexual selection, attempts to describe why males and females of the same species can differ so markedly, and why the sexes can have traits that decrease their ability to survive.
Dr. Michael Ryan, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and zoology professor at the University of Texas, Austin, reviews our understanding of sexual behavior in animals, including humans.
About Dr. Michael J. Ryan
Dr. Michael J. Ryan obtained his MS in Zoology at Rutgers University and his Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University. At Cornell, he conducted his thesis research on sexual selection and communication in the tungara frog at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama, research he continues today. Upon completion of his Ph.D., Ryan was a postdoctoral Miller Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley and then a faculty member at the University of Texas, Austin, Regents Professor in Zoology. He has received numerous awards: he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a Guggenheim Fellow, president-elect of the Animal Behavior Society and recipient of the Grinnell Medal from the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at UC Berkeley for excellence in natural history research.
Tour of the Entomology Collections with Dr. Brian Brown
Brian Brown, NHM Entomology Curator, gives guests a look at extraordinary insect specimens.
Music
Rapper (and First Friday's alum!) Bus Driver performs this month. Also on tap? The folk hip-hop hybrid sounds of Tim Fite.
Curated by the non-profit radio collective dublab, The Phatal DJ and T-Kay will DJ in the African Mammal Hall.
Series Overview
Darwin's Origin of Species: From a Theory of Evolution to a Cultural Revolution
This year Charles Darwin turns 200 and his world-altering On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection turns 150. Often considered one of the two or three most important – and misunderstood – texts published in the sciences, The Origin of Species is also one of a handful of scientific works that has reverberated beyond science, shaking the foundations of art, literature, philosophy, religion and society. This season's First Fridays celebrate “Darwin Year” through entertaining and fascinating conversations with six of the world's foremost authors and experts on the life of Darwin, the science of evolution, and the revolutionary impact of the man and his work.