Brian Dunn, APSU Published 1:40 p.m. CT Feb. 3, 2020

Im about to ruin Finding Nemo for you.

Students patriciate in professor Mollie Chashners Genetics Lab on Thursday, Feb. 14, 2019. (Taylor Slifko, APSU)(Photo: Taylor Slifko)

Thats the warning Austin Peay State University biology professor Dr. Mollie Cashner had while sharing a sneak peek at Feb. 4s Science on Tap presentation: The Weird, Wonderful World of Animal Sex.

Clownfishthe type offish Nemo and his dad, Marlin, are in the movieare a good example of just how weird sex can be in the animal world.

To find out why Marlin actually should be Marlena in Finding Nemo, youll have to attend Science on Tap on Tuesday. Science on Tap happens at 5:30 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month at Clarksvilles Strawberry Alley Ale Works.

Male praying mantises can mate even after the female has bitten off their heads.(Photo: Contributed)

Austin Peay scientists explore a different topic every month. Last month, computer science professor Dr. James Church discussed advances in facial recognition technology. Science on Tap is sponsored by the APSU College of STEM.

The freaky sex of coral, flatworms and angler fish

All animals have the ingrained desire to reproduce but doing something that sounds simplegetting two cells (the sperm and the egg) togethercan be complicated and diverse, Cashner said. Reproduction can happen in all sorts of ways.

From our human bias, we think thatthose cells somehow magically come together and then theres a stork that brings the baby, Cashner said. That may be how humans do it, but there are lots of other ways, and some of them are prettyfreaky.

Imagine youre a coral, youre literally stuck to the bottom of the ocean floor, Cashner said. How do you get your gametes (sperm and egg) to meet?

The answer might surprise you.

Cashner also will discuss how flatworms use penis fencing, how male angler fish permanently embed in females and how female damselflies deal with overly amorous males.

Female damselflies have a neat truck to deal with overly amorous males.(Photo: Contributed)

Sometimes, animal reproduction can be fatal. Attendees will learn about a marsupial that ends its life with nonstop mating and about how male praying mantises can mate even after the female has bitten off their heads.

There are all sorts of ways, and sometimes reproduction is actuallykind of scary, she said.

To learn more

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Februarys Science on Tap to explore Weird, Wonderful World of Animal Sex - The Leaf-Chronicle