"The rise and fall of animal weapons" 

Invited Speaker: Alexandre Palaoro, Postdoctoral Fellow, Materials Science & Engineering, Clemson University

Horns, tusks, spines, claws, jaws, legs shaped like nut crackers; the diversity of shapes and sizes of the structures animals use to combat each other is seemingly endless. The species that bear such structures are also diverse, spanning both invertebrates and vertebrates. But how do we get to that diversity? Can fighting alone be responsible for such a huge diversity? To tackle this type of question, we need to deconstruct evolution into the steps a trait goes through during their evolutionary process, namely origin, maintenance, diversification, and eventual loss of the trait. In this talk, I will focus on the mechanisms that can trigger the origin and the loss of animal weapons. Later, I will show some examples of how biomechanics might help us to understand the diversification process. By the end of the talk, I hope you have a new idea of how weapons rise and fall across the evolutionary history of animals.

Hosted by Sam Price.