Dr. Spain is Associate Profess or of Biology at Dominican University, San Rafael. She earned her B.S. in Biology Education from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and her Ph.D. in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Currently, her research focuses on the functional morphology and locomotion of invertebrates.

Previous Presentation: “Life in the Slow Lane - Peristaltic Locomotion in Sea Cucumbers” (January 26, 2011)

How exactly do soft-bodied animals get around? This talk combines results from projects investigating locomotion in four species of sea cucumbers (Echinoderms). Professor Spain will talk about peristaltic locomotion being used to crawl and burrow into sand. She will also give an overview of results on the kinematics analysis of crawling across sand. These include variables like stride distance, stride length, and crawling velocity. Crawl on over and check it out! Download the flyer.