Natural Selections

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Conversations about the natural world with Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley, from member-supported North Country Public Radio. 010329

NCPR - North Country Public Radio


    • Sep 23, 2021 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekly NEW EPISODES
    • 5m AVG DURATION
    • 145 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Natural Selections

    Natural Selections: Bats can sing, too!

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2021 5:13


    (Sep 23, 2021) Humans, birds, and whales are not the only creatures who can sing. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss recent research that uncovered bats also use learned songs to communicate.

    Natural Selections: Just how individual are animals?

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 16, 2021 5:04


    (Sep 16, 2021) We tend to think that dogs do this, and that cats do that. We think animal species have a recognizable set of behaviors that define the nature of their kind. But what about individual animals? Does each have something we could understand as a unique personality?

    More fish: good for the flowers, bad for the snakes

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 9, 2021 5:11


    (Sep 9, 2021) The complex web of species interaction is full of odd associations. Stocking a lake with fish cuts down on dragonflies, which helps pollinators, which helps the flowers bloom. Or it can cut down on amphibians such as newts, which is bad for garter snakes. Invasive flowering purple loosestrife is good for insects and birds that feed on them, but hard on plankton, which is at the bottom of the food chain for everything. Martha Foley and Curt Stager look an unintended consequences of human actions in nature.

    Really, really big bugs (and some tiny ones, too)

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 2, 2021 5:24


    (Sep 2, 2021) Martha Foley? - not a fan of bugs. And Curt Stager took a course on them to steady his own reactions. The Natural Selections team looks at the outliers on the spectrum, the largest and smallest of critters with too many legs. New Zealand's weta makes a real handful. The fairy fly is nearly invisible. Some prehistoric dragonflies were big enough to make off with the cat.

    Natural Selections: The evolution of breathing

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2021 6:10


    (Aug 26, 2021) All creatures breathe in some fashion, but how the job gets done has changed from fish to amphibian to reptile to mammal. Curt Stager and Martha Foley chart the evolution of animal respiration.

    Natural Selections: Why pigeons feel at home in the city

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2021 5:19


    (Aug 19, 2021) The ubiquitous bird of cities and towns was designed for a different environment. The pigeon's distinctive style of flight is adapted for maneuverability in tight places - near vertical takeoffs and quick changes of direction. This adaptation to cliff and mountainside environments serves them well among our urban cliff dwellings. Curt Stager and Martha Foley discuss.

    nature birds pigeons natural selection feel at home martha foley curt stager
    Natural Selections: Pigeons are doves, high-rises are cliffs

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 12, 2021 5:06


    (Aug 12, 2021) Pigeons and doves, both domestic and feral, are the same species. Today's urban environment mimics their original favored habitat, seaside cliffs in Europe and Asia. Martha Foley and Curt Stager discuss this commonest bird companion in densely settled areas.

    Northern Flicker, the anteater of the woodpecker family

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 5, 2021 5:27


    (Aug 5, 2021) The Northern Flicker is one of the most recognizable birds. This distinctly-marked member of the woodpecker family, instead of browsing wood for their food like their relatives, digs for food in the ground. Martha Foley and Curt Stager explore its habits.

    Natural Selections: Why manatees are related to elephants, and whales are related to deer

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 29, 2021 5:25


    (Jul 29, 2021) Animals that resemble each other may not be closely related. Sometimes the setting shapes their bodies more than their ancestry. Manatees may look like whales or walruses, but that is only because they adapted to the marine environment in a similar way. Martha Foley and Curt stager talk about convergent evolution.

    The manatee: like the mermaid, its kin live on land

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 22, 2021 5:59


    (Jul 22, 2021) The big marine herbivore, the manatee, is thought by some to be the origin of mermaid legends, but it's not closely related to humankind or even to whales and other marine mammals.

    Natural Selections: Can ADK lake trout survive climate change?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 15, 2021 5:13


    (Jul 15, 2021) Lake trout require a lot of cold, oxygenated water to survive. Lakes in the Adirondacks of upstate New York are at the southern edge of their natural range. Although about 100 Adirondack lakes and ponds are still home to lake trout, even a small increase in temperature could sharply cut that number.

    Natural Selections: The shorter winged Cliff Swallows prevail

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 8, 2021 5:23


    (Jul 8, 2021) Researchers have found that variations in the wingspan of cliff swallows has a measurable impact on their survival in a human-dominated environment.

    Natural Selections: Turns out bullheads ('trash fish') are really good parents

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 1, 2021 5:19


    Natural Selections: hyenas get a bad rap

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2021 6:59


    Natural Selections: Why does hair just keep growing?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 17, 2021 5:34


    Natural Selections: The curious history of Malaria in the U.S.

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2021 5:32


    Natural Selections: The many virtues of the silk-making insect

    Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2021 5:29


    Natural Selections: Smells like turf spirit

    Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2021 6:07


    Natural Selections: How rocks recycle

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2021 4:44


    Natural Selections - Your body is smart, it knows when you need water. But how?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2021 6:32


    Every rock tells a story

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2021 5:28


    (Apr 15, 2021) Curt Stager has his students start the semester by picking out a "pet rock." At the end of term, they have to tell the story of that rock - what it is, what it's made of, and what happened to shape it it over the ages.

    rock nature rocks geology curt stager
    Natural Selections: All the buzz about plants and sweet nectar

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2021 5:51


    Natural Selections: How high? How fast? How far? The remarkable records of bird flight

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2021 5:36


    The science behind maple syrup

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2021 5:12


    (Mar 18, 2021) You can get the sugar out of a lot of trees, but there's something special about the sugar maple. Its trunk is highly efficient at storing and moving sap. That's in part because the sap is stored throughout the trunk, rather then down in the roots, as with most trees in winter. Martha Foley and Curt Stager look at that other "sweet science," the one behind our favorite breakfast condiment.

    nature science behind botany maple syrup martha foley curt stager
    The life-sustaining space capsules we know simply as "eggs"

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2021 5:57


    Glitches? Could be gremlins, could be cosmic rays

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2021 5:15


    (Mar 4, 2021) Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss cosmic rays. While many people may think cosmic rays only affect astronauts or satellites - objects in space - computers and other electronic equipment on Earth can be affected, too.

    Making planet earth from a ball of mud, and more miracles of the muskrat

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 25, 2021 5:08


    Chewing underwater and the many feats of the magnificent muskrat

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 18, 2021 5:17


    Animals that make their living outside the box

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 11, 2021 5:59


    (Feb 11, 2021) In general, plants make food from sunlight, and animals fuel themselves by "burning" oxygen. But some animals think outside the box. Curt stager and Martha Foley look at a photosynthetic slug that hijacks the genetic machinery of the algae in its diet, and at a jellyfish that needs no oxygen, burning the alternative fuels of hydrogen and sulfur.

    Not all mammals hibernate. How do they survive a cold winter?

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 4, 2021 5:07


    (Feb 4, 2021)

    How you and me and flowers and bees get charged up (with static electricity)

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2021 5:04


    (Jan 28, 2021) It's the reason opposites attract and doorknobs shock, why lightning strikes, and the way bumblebees find the sweet spot in flowers. Whenever an object has more or fewer electrons than its neighbor, there is the potential for static discharge. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager talk about the mysterious and hair-raising ways of static electricity.

    What is a flame?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 21, 2021 5:16


    (Jan 21, 2021) What is a flame? Why is it shaped like that? How does it keep going? Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager answer some burning questions about rapid oxidation.

    fire physics chemistry flame martha foley curt stager
    Adirondack lakes recover from acid rain, but with an altered ecosystem

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2020 5:09


    (Sep 10, 2020) The success of the Clean Air Act in reducing acid deposition in Adirondack lakes is an under-reported good news story. Many lakes once devoid of life can now support healthy fish populations and other aquatic life. But as Curt Stager discusses with Martha Foley, the life that returns to recolonize the water is not the same as what was lost. Sediment cores show that the original algae and plankton varieties that form the base of the food chain and were unchanged for hundreds of years are being replaced by different varieties. A balance has been restored, but it's a new balance, tipped perhaps by warming, and by invasive species.

    Mosaics and chimera: Mix and match DNA

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 9, 2020 5:20


    (Jul 9, 2020) In most cases, we get half our genes from one parent, half from the other. But it doesn't always happen that way. Parts of the genetic inheritance can be turned on or off, and genes from other familial sources can play a role in shaping the individual body. Martha Foley and Curt Stager explore what happens when there are ripples in the gene pool.

    nature match genetics chimera mosaics martha foley curt stager
    For cats, the comfort zone is shaped like a box

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2020 4:46


    (Jun 18, 2020) Of all the places a cat can hang out, why do do many of them want to hang out in boxes? According to researchers, cats that spend time in close confines are measurably less stressed than those remaining in the open. As Curt Stager tells Martha Foley, it's not just house cats who feel this way.

    "Couch potato" bass evolving in response to human predation

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2020 5:12


    (Jun 11, 2020) The pressure to keep billions of humans fed can have a transformative impact on amimal populations. Overharvesting that targets the largest animals can result in reduction of the average size of species, as seen in Caribbean conch snails. And sport-fishing pressure on large mouth bass can winnow out the most agressive in the gene pool, resulting in a "lazier," more passive remnant population. Martha Foley and Curt Stager talk about the human factor in animal evolution.

    Can Adirondack lake trout survive climate change?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2020 4:57


    (Jun 4, 2020) Lake trout require a lot of cold, oxygenated water to survive. Lakes in the Adirondacks of upstate New York are at the southern edge of their natural range. Although about 100 Adirondack lakes and ponds are still home to lake trout, even a small increase in temperature could sharply cut that number.

    Natural Selections: Get to know your closet nemesis, the clothes moth

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2020 5:34


    (May 28, 2020) Keratin, the substance wool, hair, and feathers are made from, makes a pretty thin diet, but the clothes moth has been dogging humanity's closets and drawers for hundreds of years, unravelling the work of generations of knitters and weavers to feed its larvae.

    Closet nemesis: the clothes moth

    Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2020 5:32


    (May 28, 2020) Keratin, the substance wool, hair, and feathers are made from, makes a pretty thin diet, but the clothes moth has been dogging humanity's closets and drawers for hundreds of years, unravelling the work of generations of knitters and weavers to feed its larvae.

    Bats can sing, too!

    Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2020 5:03


    (May 21, 2020) Humans, birds, and whales are not the only creatures who can sing. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss recent research that uncovered bats also use learned songs to communicate.

    nature humans sing bats martha foley curt stager
    Nature journals put the history in natural history

    Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2020 5:49


    (May 14, 2020) Martha Foley has never succeeded in keeping a nature journal long-term, but Curt Stager finds them invaluable in his work. He records his observations on paper, but also finds great data through researching the journals of past observers, from Samuel de Champlain to Thomas Jefferson, to ordinary little-known North Country folk. His hint - always put it on paper. Whatever became of all that stuff on your floppy diskettes?

    Nature journals put the history in natural history

    Play Episode Listen Later May 13, 2020 5:43


    (May 14, 2020) Martha Foley has never succeeded in keeping a nature journal long-term, but Curt Stager finds them invaluable in his work. He records his observations on paper, but also finds great data through researching the journals of past observers, from Samuel de Champlain to Thomas Jefferson, to ordinary little-known North Country folk. His hint - always put it on paper. Whatever became of all that stuff on your floppy diskettes?

    Just how individual are animals?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2020 5:00


    (May 7, 2020) We tend to think that dogs do this, and that cats do that. We think animal species have a recognizable set of behaviors that define the nature of their kind. But what about individual animals? Does each have something we could understand as a unique personality?

    More fish: good for the flowers, bad for the snakes

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 29, 2020 4:56


    (Apr 30, 2020) The complex web of species interaction is full of odd associations. Stocking a lake with fish cuts down on dragonflies, which helps pollinators, which helps the flowers bloom. Or it can cut down on amphibians such as newts, which is bad for garter snakes. Invasive flowering purple loosestrife is good for insects and birds that feed on them, but hard on plankton, which is at the bottom of the food chain for everything. Martha Foley and Curt Stager look an unintended consequences of human actions in nature.

    Really, really big bugs (and some tiny ones, too)

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 22, 2020 5:12


    (Apr 23, 2020) Martha Foley? - not a fan of bugs. And Curt Stager took a course on them to steady his own reactions. The Natural Selections team looks at the outliers on the spectrum, the largest and smallest of critters with too many legs. New Zealand's weta makes a real handful. The fairy fly is nearly invisible. Some prehistoric dragonflies were big enough to make off with the cat.

    How do you tell the age of a fossil?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2020 5:07


    (Apr 16, 2020) Unlike organic material, which can be dated using carbon-14, stone and fossils often contain no carbon, or may be older than the carbon method can track. Radioactive potassium dating measures the ratio between a radioactive variety of potassium and the substance it breaks down into, argon gas. That can age material back billions of years. One problem: you need the gas to have been trapped in bubbles of volcanic ash. Martha Foley and Curt Stager discuss the problems of reading the geological clock.

    geology radioactive fossil martha foley curt stager
    When domesticated animals return to the wild

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 8, 2020 5:33


    (Apr 9, 2020) What happens when certain species of domesticated animals like chickens and pigs escape to live and breed in the wild? According to Curt Stager and Martha Foley, after a few generations they start to look and act like their wild ancestors again.

    wild animals adaptation domesticated martha foley curt stager
    Bullheads: For "bottom feeders" and "trash fish" they make pretty good parents

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 25, 2020 4:57


    (Mar 26, 2020) Bullheads are slimy and hard to clean without hurting yourself, but both those qualities help them survive. The spines protect them for being swallowed whole, and their lack of scales makes way for thousands of cells that let them "smell" the water with their whole bodies, and even identify each other in a group. They also herd their young together for protection, watching over them for an extended period. Martha Foley and Curt Stager talk trash about bullheads.

    The science behind maple syrup

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 18, 2020 4:54


    (Mar 19, 2020) You can get the sugar out of a lot of trees, but there's something special about the sugar maple. Its trunk is highly efficient at storing and moving sap. That's in part because the sap is stored throughout the trunk, rather then down in the roots, as with most trees in winter. Martha Foley and Curt Stager look at that other "sweet science," the one behind our favorite breakfast condiment.

    nature science behind botany maple syrup martha foley curt stager
    No nitrogen, no food, no life

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 11, 2020 5:25


    (Mar 12, 2020) Our atmosphere is about 80 percent nitrogen. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager explore the ways this common element and necessary component of all life forms interacts with the biosphere.

    nature chemistry nitrogen nolife no food martha foley curt stager
    Sand and sandstone: mountains recycled into beaches, beaches petrified into bedrock

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2020 4:24


    (Mar 5, 2020) When you're relaxing on an Adirondack beach, you're sitting on the weathered and filtered bones of the mountains' granite. And when you're admiring a building made of Potsdam sandstone, you're looking at ancient beaches fused into bedrock.

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