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Neurosciences Seminar - Yash Sondhi, PhD
Private Location (sign in to display)
Details
Thursday, December 4, 2025
12 PM, BRB 105
Yash Sondhi, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biology,
Case Western Reserve University
Host: Dr. Britton Sauerbrei
Lecture Title: "Evolution of dim light vision and phototaxis in butterflies and moths"
Abstract: Standing outside and watching the sun set, you may not realize that light levels drop more than ten times in just ten minutes. A moonlit night is about a million times darker than a sunny afternoon. In the dark, it is harder to discriminate color, contrast, or fast motion, but most animals must deal with dramatically changing light conditions. Animals can be nocturnal (night), crepuscular (dusk or dawn), or diurnal (day), often referred to as “diel-niche”. No group better embodies these light extremes than butterflies and moths. They are close relatives, famously active in profoundly different light conditions and have more than a hundred recorded diel-niche switches. Relatively more is known about their natural history and evolutionary relationships than any other insect order, yet our understanding of their visual system is limited to a few species. In this talk, I explore how light environment has shaped the evolution of visual genes, behaviour and circuits across butterflies and moths. We provide a novel explanation for short range light entrapment of insects and explore how we will unravel neural basis of insect’s light entrapment.
Publication: Fabian, S. T., Sondhi, Y., Allen, P. E., Theobald, J. C., & Lin, H.-T. (2024). Why flying insects gather at artificial light. Nature Communications, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44785-3
Seminar Format
• Introduction by the host
• Presentation (approx. 45-50 min.)
Questions during the presentation are at the individual speaker’s discretion.
• 10-15 minutes of Q&A
We encourage students to ask the first questions.
Attendee Information
Free and open to the public. Seminars are not recorded.
Livestream will be available via Zoom for those who cannot attend in person.
Event updates and Zoom links are distributed through the Neurosciences seminar email list. Subscribe to our weekly announcements. https://case.edu/medicine/neurosciences/news-events/seminars-events
Questions - Neurosciences@case.edu
case.edu/medicine/neurosciences
Speakers
Yash Sondhi, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biology
Case Western Reserve University