How Spiders Catch Dinner | Science Pub
How Spiders Catch Dinner
Spiders are mysterious creatures, using a variety of techniques to lure or ‘invite’ their guests to dinner. But how do they go about this delicate dance, what senses do they use to capture their prey? Some spiders are ground dwelling while others build complicated and beautiful webs. Come learn how spiders listen to their impending dinner company and how they use their legs to capture their next meals.
Charles Walcott is Professor Emeritus of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell University. Dr. Walcott received his AB from Harvard and his PhD from Cornell. He served on the faculties of Harvard, Tufts and The State University of New York at Stony Brook before coming to Cornell as Director of the Laboratory of Ornithology in 1981. He retired as the Louis Aggasiz Fuertes Director in June of 1995 to return to teaching and
research. He taught the Introductory Biology Course for majors for five years and served 8 years as Associate and then Dean of the University Faculty. He then served as the University Ombudsman, retiring at the end of 2021.
In addition to research on the hearing of spiders, the navigational ability of homing pigeons, magnetoreception in bees and vocal communication in Loons, Dr. Walcott has taught undergraduate courses in animal behavior, human physiology and evolution. He has also participated in projects designed to interest the public in science. These have included Discovery at WGBH, Exploring Nature, a television series for in-school use, The Elementary Science Curriculum Study, NOVA and 3-2-1 Contact. He is currently making short videos of faculty and student research to post on YouTube and CornellCast.
This live streamed on October 11, 2022.