SatL SEPT 2024 (Cicadas & Funnel Web Spiders)

Cicadarama: rise of the Green Grocer
Nathan Emery (Botanic Gardens of Sydney)

Into the spider-verse: tracking the Sydney Funnel-web spider
Caitlin Creak, (UNSW) 

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The onset of warmer weather in Australia not only brings the sound of splashing in pools and beaches, the hum of lawnmowers or the sizzle of a barbeque, but also the symphony of cicada chorus. With at least 800 species known Australia has by far the most diverse cicada fauna of any country. Nathan has been fascinated by cicadas since a boy. He has continued to study these noisy critters in his spare time and has scientifically described numerous new cicada species. Nathan has self-published the book ‘A photo guide to common cicadas of the Greater Sydney Region’, leads the citizen science project ‘The Great Cicada Blitz’ on iNaturalist, and co-runs the outreach program ‘Cicadarama’. Dr. Nathan Emery will provide answers to some of the most common cicada questions – what is a cicada? How does a cicada make noise? Why are cicadas so loud?

Caitlin's research will investigates little known aspects of Atracid behavior, ecology and biology. Using radio tracking systems she discovers how far males travel to find females, and whether this movement is impacted by environmental conditions. Her work also explores courtship and mating behavior as well as maternal care with the use of self built Raspberry Pi video camera traps. Caitlin has been investigating the utilization of burrows in this species, and the protection these structures might offer in extreme conditions such as low intensity bush fires, or heavy rain and flooding events.