Advancing Ecology and Environmental Data Science for a More Just and Equitable Future

Join us for an NCEAS seminar series motivated by conversations about how we can foster diversity and inclusion within our scientific community, while also designing research questions and approaches to promote environmental justice and equity across our broader community. The speakers will share their research approaches and findings as they relate to the intersections of ecology, environmental data science, equity, and environmental justice. 

Natural Variation in Gender Expression and Sexuality with Implications for Evolutionary Theory

Wednesday, March 23, 2022
11:30am - 12:30pm PST 
Zoom Event | Learn more and RSVP for Joan's Talk

The discovery among animals of extensive variation in gender expression and sexuality refutes a supposition that the gender binary is universal and that homosexuality is rare. In humans too, variation in gender expression and sexual orientation occurs in all cultures and through history. This variation challenges traditional biological explanations of animal behavior, especially explanations that trace to Darwin’s theory of sexual selection. Even today, the very definition of sexual selection remains contested. The definition developed in a 2015 NESCent workshop will be contrasted with a 2021 definition proposed by Shuker and Kvarnemo.

About Joan Roughgarden, Ph.D. (@JoanRoughgarden)

Joan Roughgarden received bachelor degrees in biology and philosophy from University of Rochester in 1968 and a Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University in 1971. She taught at Stanford University beginning in 1972. In 2011 she retired and in 2012 joined the University of Hawaii’s Institute of Marine Biology. Joan has published more than 190 papers and 9 books, including Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People and the novel, Ram-2050: A Ramayana Epic for the Future.