SciCafe

Alive and Glowing: Adventures in Bioluminescence and Biofluorescence

Wallach Orientation Center, fourth floor
Enter at 77th Street

Ticket Info

Free (Space is limited)
21+ with ID

Click here to RSVP

Enjoy cocktails, cutting-edge science, and conversation at this popular after-hours series, which takes place on the first Wednesday of every month.

Join John Sparks, associate curator in the Museum’s Department of Ichthyology, and David Gruber, a research associate in the Museum’s Division of Invertebrate Zoology, for a night about glowing nature. Drs. Sparks and Gruber will discuss the different ways bioluminescence has evolved in organisms ranging from single-celled bacteria to sharks; share the latest research about fishes that use light signals for mating, feeding, and defense; and talk about the possible biological functions of biofluorescence—a “glowing” phenomenon that is invisible to the naked eye.

John Sparks researches the evolution and biogeography of freshwater and nearshore marine fishes and has recently conducted fieldwork in Madagascar, South America, the Caribbean, and the Indo-Pacific region. He is curator of the Museum’s special exhibition Creatures of Light: Nature’s Bioluminescence, which opens March 31, 2012. David Gruber, who is also an assistant professor of biology at Baruch College, City University of New York, probes the deepest portions of coral reefs using SCUBA and submersibles in a quest for biofluorescent creatures and molecules.

Proudly sponsored by Judy and Josh Weston.