Rockville Science Cafe Lecture Series

Rockville Science Cafe Lecture Series:

Venom, Scales, and Sticky Toes: Adaptations of amphibians and reptiles in Arizona

With Jessie Rack, Ph.D.

Register for Zoom link here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMldeygpj4iH9wfZr5vevFH4MTrEYXG-LAP#/registration

You may know about rattlesnakes, but do you know about hallucinogenic toads, all-female populations of lizards, absorbing tails, cannibalistic tadpoles, or salamanders that breed as juveniles? Amphibians and reptiles in the Southwest have an incredible array of adaptations that allow them to exploit many available habitats. Learn what's so special about reptiles and amphibians in the first place, and why conditions in Arizona have allowed them to diversify in so many marvelous ways. 

Speaker: Jessie Rack is an ecologist, naturalist, and environmental educator passionate about communicating how the world works. Jessie has a PhD in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology from the University of Connecticut (for which she studied salamanders!) and diverse experiences in both formal and informal education. She taught writing at Princeton University, wrote for the NPR ScienceDesk, and is a AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador, one of 125 women in STEM fields chosen to be a science role model to middle school girls. Currently, she is a professor in the biology department at Northern Arizona University.