Biology Christmas Lecture 2025 - Seismic Senses: from Spiders to Elephants - IN PERSON

This in person event will be chaired by Head of Department Professor Martin Maiden who will introduce Dr Beth Mortimer for an exciting talk on the fascinating world of animals with the ability to detect surface vibrations – a remarkable sense we call seismic sensing. From spiders that shake their webs and sing love songs, to elephants that rumble the ground when there’s danger, many species use vibrations to communicate.

Discover how detecting vibrations generated by elephants in the African savannah can aid in their conservation, and how the unique sensitivity of spiders could inspire new robotic systems that use vibrations as an information source.