Event: Lecture: Narwhal Biology and a Tusk with a Twist

Know before you go
In-person event
Location: Morse Auditorium

Included with admission

Recommended for ages 6 to adult

ABOVE IMAGE: Gretchen Freund, Narwhal Tusk Research.

The narwhal and its extraordinary tusk have inspired legends, intrigued Arctic explorers and baffled the world of science. How did this marine mammal evolve such an incredible tooth? What can narwhals tell us about biodiversity and adaptation in a changing Arctic? Join Harvard and Smithsonian research scientist Martin Nweeia on his decades-long quest to answer these questions, and discover just how extraordinary this “unicorn of the sea” really is.

Nweeia’s ongoing research spans genetic studies, physiology and mammalian dental studies to help explain nature’s most puzzling tooth, along with narwhal behavior and adaptation in a changing Arctic. Join him at PEM for a presentation accompanied by documentary footage and photography that explores this elusive whale through innovative technologies with a focus on climate change and Inuit knowledge.