Animals use a dizzying array of sounds, smells, colors, dances, electrical fields and seismic vibrations to convince each other to mate. These elaborate courtship signals were a mystery until Darwin’s time—after proposing his theory of natural selection, Darwin was left with the question of how the flamboyant peacock could be shaped by the same process that makes the peahen so perfectly camouflaged. There is now strong support for Darwin’s answer to this question, the process he termed sexual selection, proposing that the courting sex must be elaborate because the courted sex demands it. But how can we study the conversations males and females in non-human animals have about mating? One way to do this is to participate, controlling one side of the conversation with a robot. Gail Patricelli, a professor of evolution and ecology from the University of California Davis, will talk about using robotic females and other technology to study courtship behaviors in the greater sage-grouse, and how such research informs conservation of this iconic North American bird and its habitat. Registration recommended to join us in person, and registration required to receive the Vimeo link to watch online.

Dr. David Adler, president of The Alturas Institute, renowned constitutional scholar and former Professor in the University of Idaho College of Law, will deliver a talk that explores – within a historical context – current tensions in American constitutional law prompted by recent executive orders and interpretations of the Constitution. Adler will review the implications for the rule of law from the current administration’s assertions of executive power, which raise threats to the separation of powers, checks and balances, and the enumeration of powers. Adler will also address the import of the defiance of judicial orders within the context of the duty of the judiciary, as declared by Chief Justice John Marshall, “to say what the law is.” Q & A to follow. This program will be livestreamed and available to watch later on the Library’s Event Archive. Registration recommended to join us in person, and registration required to receive the Vimeo link to watch online.

In partnership with the Sawtooth Interpretive & Historical Association (SIHA) as they kick off their summer Sawtooth Forum and Lecture Series in Ketchum. Join The Community Library for a talk with wildlife biologist Maurice Hornocker about his work, “Cougars on the Cliff: One Man’s Pioneering Quest to Understand the Mythical Mountain Lion.” North America’s biggest cat was once killed for bounty dollars, slaughtered with impunity and driven toward extinction. But today’s cat of intrigue, despite our lingering fears and misconceptions, has returned to much of its native range in the western United States and gained respect as a predator integral and necessary to wild ecosystems. This turnaround was triggered by Maurice Hornocker and his research that tracked lions following scent hounds and cat tracks in the snow — before telemetry was available. Hornocker was first to learn that mountain lions living in stable populations limit their own numbers through territoriality and a concept he called “mutual avoidance.” This insight flew in the face of long-held beliefs that cougars were prolific and wanton killers that needed to be controlled as vermin. Thanks to Hornocker’s work, today cougars can be found throughout the West and have even started to reclaim their place …