Podcasts about behavioural ecology

Since plants have to mate and produce offspring while rooted to the spot, they have to be pollinated – by wind, water, or animals – most commonly insects. They use a surprising array of tricks to attract pollinators: striking colours, iridescent light effects, and enticing scents, to name but a few. Insects, on the other hand, do not seek to pollinate plants – they are looking for food; so plants make sure it's worth their while. Insects are also remarkably sophisticated in their ability to find, recognise and find their way inside flowers. So pollination has evolved as a complex dance between plants and pollinators that is essential for life on earth to continue. With Beverley Glover, Director of the Cambridge University Botanic GardenJane Memmott, Professor of Ecology at the University of BristolAndLars Chittka, Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary, University of London.Producer: Eliane GlaserReading list:Stephen L Buchmann and Gary Paul Nabhan, The Forgotten Pollinators (Island Press, 1997)Lars Chittka, The Mind of a Bee (Princeton University Press, 2023)Steven Falk, Field Guide to the Bees of Britain and Ireland (British Wildlife Publishing, 2015)Francis S. Gilbert (illustrated by Steven J. Falk), Hoverflies: Naturalists' Handbooks vol. 5 (Pelagic Publishing, 2015)Dave Goulson, A Sting in the Tale: My Adventures with Bumblebees (Vintage, 2014)Edwige Moyroud and Beverley J. Glover, ‘The evolution of diverse floral morphologies' (Current Biology vol 11, 2017)Jeff Ollerton, Birds and Flowers: An Intimate 50 Million Year Relationship (Pelagic Publishing, 2024) Alan E. Stubbs and Steven J. Falk, British Hoverflies (‎British Entomological & Natural History Society, 2002)Timothy Walker, Pollination: The Enduring Relationship Between Plant and Pollinator (Princeton University Press, 2020)In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production

Are insects sentient? Guest: Professor Lars Chittka, Professor in Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences at Queen Mary, University of London and Author of “The Mind of a Bee” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are insects sentient? Guest: Professor Lars Chittka, Professor in Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at the School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences at Queen Mary, University of London and Author of “The Mind of a Bee” How will Trump's talk of acquiring Canada affect diplomacy? Guest: Dr. Laura Dawson, Canada-U.S. Relations Expert and Executive Director of the Future Borders Coalition What's next for the halted Online Harms Bill? Guest: Niki Sharma, Attorney General of British Columbia Should alcoholic beverages have cancer warning labels? Guest: Dr. Erin Hobin, Canadian institute for substance use researcher with the university of Victoria How will Trudeau's resignation impact businesses? Guest: Pascal Chan, Vice President of Strategic Policy & Supply Chains at the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr Shane is joined by EAGG regulars Dr Scarlett and Dr Ailie, as well as 2 very special guests.Katie Belt : Pet and Family Advocate – The lost dog's home, shares an update regarding the Lost dogs home, providing insight to current challenges, and also promotes the current push for feedback from all pet-owners via an active survey.Dr Georgina Stephens : Clinical anatomy education and health professions Monash University, unpacks the relationship between students and donors as part of fields of research, and sheds light on the 'Anatomical Mythbusters' video series.Dr Scarlett discusses a recent conference she attended focussed on Behavioural ecology, and answers questions on the subject.The team then finish with some science news, with topics ranging from Mountain Isostasy to NASA's Europa Clipper mission.

Bienen entwickeln im Schwarm faszinierende Fähigkeiten, sind aber auch als Individuen verblüffend intelligent. Prof. Lars Chittka ist seit 2005 Professor für Sensory and Behavioural Ecology an der Queen Mary University of London. Sein spezielles Interesse gilt Modellen der Insekten-Pflanzen-Interaktion, insbesondere der Intelligenz von Bienen und Hummeln. Gerade hat der Biologe sein neues Standardwerk "Im Cockpit der Biene" vorgelegt und begeistert auf dem Roten Sofa unterhaltsam für die winzigen intelligenten Tiere.

As a new exhibition opens in Liverpool exploring the survival of bees Start the Week takes stock of the life and times of this extraordinary insect. The artist Wolfgang Buttress uses a fusion of art, science and technology to create a sensory experience of the sights and sounds of bees. Bees: A Story of Survival is on at the World Museum, Liverpool until May 2025.They've been around for over 120 million years and Lars Chittka, Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary University of London, says the thousands of different bee species have evolved a huge diversity of lifestyles and are some of the most intelligent animals on Earth. They not only use a symbolic language, can count, use tools and learn by observation, but are now believed to have an emotional hinterland.For millennia, bees have held a special significance in human culture. Claire Preston, Professor of Renaissance Literature at QMUL, traces the symbolism of bees through historical and literary records, from ancient political analogies to today's discussions about hive minds.While there are increasing fears about the future of bees as they battle exposure to pesticides, diseases and habitat destruction, Alison Benjamin is one of a growing number of people trying to raise awareness. She is the co-founder of Urban Bees and wants to shift the focus away from farmed hives of honey bees which are growing in popularity in cities, to the protection and survival of wild and solitary bees.Producer: Katy Hickman

Lars Chittka is the author of the book The Mind of a Bee and Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary College of the University of London. He is also the founder of the Research Centre for Psychology at Queen Mary. He is known for his work on the evolution of sensory systems and cognition using insect-flower interactions as a model system. Chittka has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of animal cognition and its impact on evolutionary fitness studying bumblebees and honeybees.I often say that human beings have lost the sense of the mindedness all around us—that we exist fully embedded in mind. In this episode we cultivate an appreciation of the remarkable mind of a bee.

Is there an insect more universally despised than the wasp? What have they done to incur so much of our ire? No one likes them. Well... almost no one. Seirian Sumner, Professor of Behavioural Ecology at University College London and cofounder of the Big Wasp Survey, is on a mission to improve the wasp's PR with her book "Endless Forms: Why We Should Love Wasps". She joins us to talk about the fascinating biology and behaviour of wasps and their societies, and how we can learn to better coexist with the wasp, thinking of it less as pest and more...

This week's podcast guest is Dr. Neil Hammerschlag, who you may recognize from Discovery Channel's "Shark Week". In this timely episode, Reid sits down to ask Dr. Hammerschlag about his new business, Atlantic Shark Expeditions, about public engagement and perception in shark conservation, and about the line between ecotourism and eco-harassment. Additionally, hear them chat about bioaccumulation and Pearl Jam. Remember: be passionate.  Get in touch with us! The Fisheries Podcast is on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram: @FisheriesPod  Become a Patron of the show: https://www.patreon.com/FisheriesPodcast Buy podcast shirts, hoodies, stickers, and more: https://teespring.com/stores/the-fisheries-podcast-fan-shop Thanks as always to Andrew Gialanella for the fantastic intro/outro music. The Fisheries Podcast is a completely independent podcast, not affiliated with a larger organization or entity. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by the podcast. The views expressed by guests are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Views and opinions expressed by the hosts are those of that individual and do not necessarily reflect the view of any entity with those individuals are affiliated in other capacities (such as employers).

A conversation with Fred Provenza, professor emeritus of Behavioural Ecology in the Department of Wildland Resources at Utah State University, about domesticated animals, their ability to self-select medicine and food and figure out what they need in terms of energy, vitamins and phytonutrients. We also discuss what they can teach us about rediscovering our nutritional wisdom.This series is supported by the A Team Foundation, who support food and land projects that are ecologically, economically and socially conscious. They contribute to the wider movement that envisions a future where real food is produced by enlightened agriculture and access to it is equal. The A Team are looking to make more investments and grants in the space of bionutrients. You can find out more on ateamfoundation.org.---------------------------------------------------Join our Gumroad community, discover the tiers and benefits on www.gumroad.com/investinginregenag. Support our work:Share itGive a 5-star ratingBuy us a coffee… or a meal! www.Ko-fi.com/regenerativeagriculture----------------------------------------------------Research shows that animals are perfectly able to feed themselves when they have the cultural background and intergenerational education plus the diversity in plants and feed they need. So, what does that teach us about human nutrition and its connection to healthy soils?More about this episode on https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/fred-provenza.Find our video course on https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/course.----------------------------------------------------The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice. Support the showFeedback, ideas, suggestions? - Twitter @KoenvanSeijen - Get in touch www.investinginregenerativeagriculture.comJoin our newsletter on www.eepurl.com/cxU33P! Support the showThanks for listening and sharing!

Our special guest is Prof. Dr. Lars Chittka.  He is from the Research Centre for Psychology at the Queen Mary University of London, where he is a Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology. His latest book “The Mind of a Bee” is a rich and surprising exploration of the intelligence of bees.

TUNE INTO THE TOWN: UBER AND TORONTO'S DRIVER SAFETY PROGRAM Libby Znaimer is joined by Lauren O'Neil, Senior News Editor of BlogTO, Karen Stintz, CEO of Variety Village and

Are elephants the biggest animals on earth? Do elephants really never forget? And why do elephants have trunks?  Join Anika and Dexter as they find out all the excellent facts about elephants with Clare McArthur from the University of Sydney.  Guest: Clare McArthur who is a Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Sydney Hosts: Anika and Dexter  Production: Cinnamon Nippard  Sound Design: Josh Newth Executive Producer: Lorna Clarkson   And if YOU have a big Fact Detective question, send it to factdetectives@listnr.com.au  Hear it first on LiSTNR. Listen ad-free on Kinderling.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In years gone by, if a bee was annoying you, it was usually "bye-bye Mr. Bee" but nowadays, we're more likely to put out plates of sugary water to help them on their way as in recent years our appreciation for these incredible insects has grown, our understanding of their importance more rounded. But just how intelligent are they? Lars Chittka, Professor in Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary University of London and author of 'The Mind of a Bee' joins Jonathan to discuss.

Are wasps the anti-bee? Malicious, stripey villains who exist to make our lives worse? Unsurprisingly: no.  Tom is joined by Seirian Sumner, Professor of Behavioural Ecology at University College London and author of 'Endless Forms', who has made it her mission to repair the reputation of the wasp, and share what makes the Apocrita both interesting and vital.Join us to discover the imporance of wasps, as well as the architecture, social structures and eye-watering parasitoid lifestyles that can be found within this most diverse of insect groups.Seirian's book , Endless Forms, can be found here: https://harpercollins.co.uk/products/endless-forms-the-secret-world-of-wasps-seirian-sumner

Professor Elodie Briefer of the University of Copenhagen is an expert on communication with animals, and how their vocal signals contain information about what species they are, which group they're from, even their age and body size and dominance status. How animals and birds sound, she's discovered, also reflects emotions and mood. She runs a Behavioural Ecology group at her university, with the goal of improving animal welfare.

The Smart 7 is a daily podcast that gives you everything you need to know in 7 minutes, at 7 am, 7 days a week... With over 10 million downloads and consistently charting, including as No. 1 News Podcast on Spotify, we're a trusted source for people every day. If you're enjoying it, please follow, share, or even post a review, it all helps... Today's episode includes the following guests:· Caroline Ummenhofer - Physical Oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution· Tommi Eronen - Co-founders of Polar Night Energy· Pekka Passi - Managing Director of the Vatajanoski power plant· Lars Chittka - Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary University of London· Johnathan Long, PhD - Assistant Professor of Pathology at Stanford University· Dr Jenny Allen - University of Queensland· Rochelle Constantine - Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Auckland· Kjetil Wormnes - European Space Agency Project Manager· Thomas Krueger - Head of the Human Robot Interaction Lab at the European Space Research and Technology Centre· Mark Fagan - Public Information Officer at Florida's Department of Agriculture See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Smart 7 is a daily podcast that gives you everything you need to know in 7 minutes, at 7 am, 7 days a week... With over 10 million downloads and consistently charting, including as No. 1 News Podcast on Spotify, we're a trusted source for people every day. If you're enjoying it, please follow, share, or even post a review, it all helps... Today's episode includes the following guests:· Caroline Ummenhofer - Physical Oceanographer at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution· Tommi Eronen - Co-founders of Polar Night Energy· Pekka Passi - Managing Director of the Vatajanoski power plant· Lars Chittka - Professor of Sensory and Behavioural Ecology at Queen Mary University of London· Johnathan Long, PhD - Assistant Professor of Pathology at Stanford University· Dr Jenny Allen - University of Queensland· Rochelle Constantine - Professor of Marine Biology at the University of Auckland· Kjetil Wormnes - European Space Agency Project Manager· Thomas Krueger - Head of the Human Robot Interaction Lab at the European Space Research and Technology Centre· Mark Fagan - Public Information Officer at Florida's Department of Agriculture See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Emily is an ecologist and zoologist based in Falmouth. In the first in a series of local walking podcast episodes, we talk about using behavioural ecology and effective science communication to influence conservation change, on both an organisational and individual level. You can find out more about Emily's work on Instagram and you learn more about Bloom in Doom Magazine here Follow the podcast on Instagram / follow me - @george_brynmor on Instagram / Support me on Ko-fi here Café Notes - Wild Vibes Argal Location - Argal Reservoir, Falmouth. Music credits - "Heron Island" by Richard Bentley

We're taking your questions this month! Dr Hannah Rowland, Sam Helle, Anjana Parandhaman and I tackle all your  burning issues, from finding funding, to advocating for credit on publications, to dating in science. There's plenty of research here too - Hannah and I talk about her past and current research, and this episode's Paper in Focus takes us to the deep sea to explore the effects of sediment disturbance, by Danielle de Jonge and Tanja Stratmann.Paper in focus: Abyssal food-web model indicates faunal carbon flow recovery and impaired microbial loop 26 years after a sediment disturbance experimentLinks and resources:Beepcast - the Behavioural Ecology and Evolution PodcastiAtlantic Project: Health of Deep Sea and Open Ocean Ecosystems

Wasps are amongst the most feared and unloved insects, because of their sting and sometimes aggressive behaviour. Yet, they perform vital ecosystem services that are of both ecological and economic importance. It is time we appreciated the value of wasps, as we do other beneficial insects like bees. This talk will present evidence on the ecological importance of wasps in natural and farmed ecosystems and discuss the potential for harnessing the predatory power of wasps as nature's pest controllers... Date: 1st June 2021 About the speaker: Professor Seirian Sumner, Professor of Behavioural Ecology, from the Research Department of Genetics, Evolution & Environment (UCL Division of Biosciences) Free to attend, live stream or watch online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnOK5KPNV3I More info : events.ucl.ac.uk/lhl Join the conversation on Twitter at #UCLMinds #MadeAtUCL

This episode of the Podcast is a conversation with Tristan Guttridge a biologist with a passion for sharks, in fact he describes himself as a shark fanatic. With a PhD in Behavioural Ecology, based on research he undertook at the Shark Lab in Bimini, Bahamas, Tristan has many strings to his bow as he advocates for greater understanding and protection of sharks. In addition to continued shark research, Tristan has become a well-known presenter on Discovery Channels, and I worked with him in March 2021 for a programme for Discovery Shark Week 2021. With his wife, Annie, Tristan has also founded a non-profit called Save the Blue, which enables volunteers to learn more about shark research aswell as providing education programmes for schoolchildren in the Bahamas. Much of his work is based in the waters around Andros Island in the Bahamas, a uniquely pristine barrier reef environment with a trench of very deep water, the Tongue of the Ocean, directly alongside and a huge area of protected marine reserve. We had a very intense shoot schedule, including multiple night shoots and dives, but we were able to have a conversation on the final day while we were packing to leave. It was a really fantastic experience to do an interview live and face-to-face for the first time. I learnt a lot about sharks and Tristan's enthusiasm is infectious. Support this podcast

Episode 13 has been split into 2 parts because Katie and Ellie do not understand the concept of time. The hosts kick off the episode by, unsurprisingly, talking about things they have no business talking about - the stock market(?) and then Ellie tells Katie all about the domestic dog and the problem with pedigree breeds. This episode gets a little science-heavy as Ellie talks about inbreeding depression. As always, lots of swearing and tangents. And as always, we're sorry.

Stefan and Michael interview Henrik Österblom. Henrik is the Science Director of the Stockholm Resilience Center and a Professor at the University of Stockholm in Sweden. He has a PhD in Marine Ecology from the Department of Systems Ecology at Stockholm University, and a Master's Degree in Behavioural Ecology from the Department of Zoology at Uppsala University. He is interested in marine ecosystems and ways to improve ocean stewardship. Starting as a seabird ecologist, with a particular interest in social interactions between alcids, he has worked on understanding how the Baltic Sea is managed, how international collaboration emerged to address non-compliance in Southern Ocean fisheries, and how transnational corporations shape the present and future ocean. Ongoing work is focusing on the role of science in society and the cultural evolution of global prosocial behavior. He has worked at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, and as Special Advisor to the Swedish Government in the Secretariat for the Environmental Advisory Council. Österblom has facilitated the Keystone Dialogues, a global co-production project including major private actors in global seafood, which has resulted in the establishment of the Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship (SeaBOS) initiative, aimed to transform global seafood towards more sustainable practices. This project is funded by the Walton Family Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. He is also principal investigator of project New solutions to marine problems, aimed at accelerating marine ecosystem knowledge through the use of autonomous drones and artificial intelligence and funded by the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg Foundation. Österblom is a member of the Expert Group for the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy and member of the IMBER Human Dimensions Working Group. He serves on the international advisory board of the South American Institute for Resilience and Sustainability Studies (SARAS²), as board member of Race for the Baltic, and as chairman of the SeaBOS Fundraising foundation. He is subject editor for Ecology and Society, and PLOS One. Henrik's SRC page https://www.stockholmresilience.org/meet-our-team/staff/2008-01-09-osterblom.html Seafood Business for Ocean Stewardship project https://seabos.org/   Unsustainable science (extended pdf also includes a Spanish version of the paper): https://www.cell.com/one-earth/fulltext/S2590-3322(19)30017-X?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS259033221930017X%3Fshowall%3Dtrue SARAS work on connecting science and art: https://www.ecologyandsociety.org/issues/view.php?sf=112 The keystone actor analysis:  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0127533 Developing SeaBOS and its initial results: https://www.pnas.org/content/114/34/9038 The “Ocean 100” analysis:  https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/7/3/eabc8041   Give us a rating on your podcast app!   Twitter https://twitter.com/InCommonPod   Instagram https://www.instagram.com/incommonpod/   www.incommonpodcast.org   https://www.patreon.com/incommonpodcast  

This week I spoke to Professor Nick Davies FRS to find out how sneaky cuckoos trick their unwitting hosts, how the field of Behavioural Ecology has evolved in the last 50 years, and how young scientists can keep a sense of balance and perspective. Professor Nick Davies FRS is Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge. His 50 year career has had enormous influence on the field of Behavioural Ecology and it really was an honour to chat to him. For natural science students his textbooks are much-loved staples, and for wider audiences his book “Cuckoo: Cheating by Nature” has been widely acclaimed. Sir David Attenborough doesn't turn up as a surprise to just anyone's retirement event - so hopefully that shows what an inspirational scientist and naturalist Prof. Davies really is. Intro and outro music: Funky Chunk by Kevin MacLeod Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3789-funky-chunk License: https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Tim talks with Tom Squires – Manchester Met PhD student studying mynah birds in Indonesia...In this interview we talk about his PhD and the Asian Songbird Crisis. We also talk about what its like doing a PhD generally, doing any kind of ecology further education really. We also discuss the merits of being a generalist, and about that most mysterious of attributes: being a birder.Thanks:Kelly Lomas & Gif Lemon - Artwork'Still Pickin', Kevin Macleod - Theme tuneRelated links:IUCN – Species Survival Commission https://www.iucn.org/commissions/species-survival-commission/aboutAsian Songbird Trade Specialist Grouphttps://www.iucn.org/commissions/ssc-groups/birds/asian-songbird-trade The Tourist Gazehttps://www.lancaster.ac.uk/fass/resources/sociology-online-papers/papers/urry-globalising-the-tourist-gaze.pdf British Bird Sounds on CD – British Libraryhttps://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Bird-Sounds-CD-Definitive/dp/0712305122 The Behavioural Ecology and Evolution Podcasthttp://thebeepcast.blogspot.com/ Beth Robertshttps://www.researchgate.net/profile/Beth_Roberts3 Asian Songbird Crisishttps://www.mmu.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/story/10987/ Birdsong competitionhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6de8S9VMLAo Beaver eating lettucehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h54NHiDzvsM Alfred Russel Wallace (and the ‘Wallace Line')https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/who-was-alfred-russel-wallace.html

------------------Support the channel------------ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedissenter SubscribeStar: https://www.subscribestar.com/the-dissenter PayPal: paypal.me/thedissenter PayPal Subscription 1 Dollar: https://tinyurl.com/yb3acuuy PayPal Subscription 3 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ybn6bg9l PayPal Subscription 5 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/ycmr9gpz PayPal Subscription 10 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y9r3fc9m PayPal Subscription 20 Dollars: https://tinyurl.com/y95uvkao ------------------Follow me on--------------------- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedissenteryt/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDissenterYT Dr. Niels Dingemanse is Tenured Professor in Behavioural Ecology in the Department of Biology at the Ludwig Maximilians University, Germany. He conducts evolutionary behavioral ecology research, asking questions about the adaptive evolution of behavioral strategies, and their genetic architectures, within an ecological context. His research is motivated by behavioral ecology, life-history, and quantitative genetics theory, and seeks to test predictions and assumptions of adaptive theory using observational and experimental approaches in the laboratory and the wild. In this episode, we focus on animal personality. We discuss the relationship between ecology and evolutionary biology, the evolution of behavioral traits, and behavioral plasticity. We then get into personality, and go through its behavioral genetics, social roles, and ecological aspects individuals respond to. -- Follow Dr. Dingemanse's work: Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3cz6HnK ResearchGate profile: https://bit.ly/360HyB2 Twitter handle: @DingemanseLab -- A HUGE THANK YOU TO MY PATRONS/SUPPORTERS: KARIN LIETZCKE, ANN BLANCHETTE, PER HELGE LARSEN, LAU GUERREIRO, JERRY MULLER, HANS FREDRIK SUNDE, BERNARDO SEIXAS, HERBERT GINTIS, RUTGER VOS, RICARDO VLADIMIRO, BO WINEGARD, CRAIG HEALY, OLAF ALEX, PHILIP KURIAN, JONATHAN VISSER, DAVID DIAS, ANJAN KATTA, JAKOB KLINKBY, ADAM KESSEL, MATTHEW WHITINGBIRD, ARNAUD WOLFF, TIM HOLLOSY, HENRIK AHLENIUS, JOHN CONNORS, PAULINA BARREN, FILIP FORS CONNOLLY, DAN DEMETRIOU, ROBERT WINDHAGER, RUI INACIO, ARTHUR KOH, ZOOP, MARCO NEVES, MAX BEILBY, COLIN HOLBROOK, SUSAN PINKER, THOMAS TRUMBLE, PABLO SANTURBANO, SIMON COLUMBUS, PHIL KAVANAGH, JORGE ESPINHA, CORY CLARK, MARK BLYTH, ROBERTO INGUANZO, MIKKEL STORMYR, ERIC NEURMANN, SAMUEL ANDREEFF, FRANCIS FORDE, TIAGO NUNES, BERNARD HUGUENEY, ALEXANDER DANNBAUER, OMARI HICKSON, PHYLICIA STEVENS, FERGAL CUSSEN, YEVHEN BODRENKO, HAL HERZOG, NUNO MACHADO, DON ROSS, JOÃO ALVES DA SILVA, JONATHAN LEIBRANT, JOÃO LINHARES, OZLEM BULUT, NATHAN NGUYEN, STANTON T, SAMUEL CORREA, ERIK HAINES, MARK SMITH, J.W., JOÃO EIRA, TOM HUMMEL, SARDUS FRANCE, DAVID SLOAN WILSON, YACILA DEZA-ARAUJO, IDAN SOLON, ROMAIN ROCH, DMITRY GRIGORYEV, AND DIEGO LONDOÑO CORREA! A SPECIAL THANKS TO MY PRODUCERS, YZAR WEHBE, JIM FRANK, ŁUKASZ STAFINIAK, IAN GILLIGAN, SERGIU CODREANU, LUIS CAYETANO, MATTHEW LAVENDER, TOM VANEGDOM, CURTIS DIXON, BENEDIKT MUELLER, VEGA GIDEY, AND NIRUBAN BALACHANDRAN! AND TO MY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS, MICHAL RUSIECKI, ROSEY, AND JAMES PRATT!

In the desert plains of Northern Kenya, hundreds of people from around the world and different walks of life have gathered. The photographs they take with their GPS-enabled cameras might be humanity's best shot at saving an entire species. This is the story of Wildbook, an artificial intelligence (AI) software program that creates a live database to track animal populations. In this episode of Teamistry, host Gabriela Cowperthwaite discovers how a shared mission, and a shared technology platform supporting the work of diverse teams, is saving animals – and the biodiversity of the planet. We hear from Tanya Berger-Wolf, co-founder of Wildbook and Jason Holmberg, co-founder of WildMe, the organization that created and runs Wildbook. We also hear from Rosemary Warungu, zebra project manager at the Mpala Research Centre in Kenya, and Daniel Rubenstein, a behavioural ecologist at Princeton University, as they explain how Wildbook's global community is helping change local attitudes towards the Grevy's zebra — one photo at a time.Teamistry is an original podcast from Atlassian. For more on the series, go to https://www.atlassian.com/blog/podcast.

Katie and Ellie channel their middle-aged white man and talk about things they have no business talking about. Katie talks about nudibranchs going arse-over-tits, and Ellie talks about clitoromegaly in the spotted hyena. Ellie becomes infatuated with sea bunnies. As usual, lots of incoherent rambling and swear words.

Ellie and Katie introduce themselves. Ellie talks about her fieldwork in the Seychelles and her favourite bird, Greg. Katie talks about her masters research into the impact of zooxanthellae on anemone behaviour, and her current work at a non-profit. Ellie sits too close to the microphone and has a very limited concept of volume control. Lots of incoherent rambling and swear words. We’re learning and we’re sorry. **Corrections** Cousin was actually bought and turned into a nature reserve in 1968 (not 1982). It was then restored to native vegetation by 1982.

Guest Dr. Gard W. Otis Professor of Behavioural Ecology and Apiculture, and Adjunct Professor at the School of Environmental Sciences at University of Guelph

Sound is what the world does. From the tiniest bugs to the largest whales, animals use sound to communicate, for example, they sing to attract a mate and establish a territory. But this is all happening against a background of man-made noise that was, until the last few weeks, increasing in volume all the time. So what happens if you can’t hear or make yourself heard or you are too stressed or distracted to behave normally? Andy Radford, Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Bristol explores the impact of this global pollutant and the mitigation measures that could help. Producer: Sarah Blunt

Hey Everyone! This is not a full episode of my podcast Circle of Willis! Instead, this is bonus material related to Episode 10, where I talked with DAVID SLOAN WILSON. I say "related to" because really this bonus material is not stuff I cut from the original interview with David, as all the other bonus episodes have been.  Instead, for this bonus episode, David Sloan Wilson is interviewing me! I'm thrilled to say he had so much fun chatting that he proposed this follow-up interview to learn more about my own journey to the field of Behavioral Ecology as a psychologist and neuroscientist. I was happy to tell him all about how the book An Introduction to Behavioural Ecology sort of changed my intellectual and scientific life, causing me to think very differently about my own work, but also about things like the evolution of the human brain, and about psychological science in general.  I'm also grateful that this conversation gave me an opportunity to sing the praises of my friend and colleague Dennis Proffitt, whose work informs and inspires me all the time, and who was, for me, the "gateway drug" to ecological thinking.  Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did! Jim

Andy Radford, Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Bristol, shares his knowledge of birds from around the world. Photograph: Matthew Bell

Nick Davies is an expert in the art of deception - as practised by the cuckoo. He has spent his career studying that deceiving, murderous bird, and living in woods and wild gardens, even up in a mountain hut in the Pyrenees. He's a hugely influential scientist: since the late 1970s he's really helped define the field in behavioural ecology, and he's Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Cambridge and a fellow of Pembroke College. But really, as he tells Michael Berkeley, he's happier not sitting in a library, but roaming the fens. In Private Passions, Nick Davies reveals what he's learned about bird behaviour, and how birds use song to compete and, sometimes, collaborate to sing duets. He explains how some birds sing in poetry, some in prose; and why the blackbird in your back garden is a better songster than the nightingale. Music choices reflect his passion for the beauty of the natural world: Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony, for instance, Vaughan Williams's Lark Ascending, and songs by Herbert Howells and Samuel Barber about the transformative power of nature. We also hear the song of larks, nightingales, blackbirds, pink-footed geese - and the croaking of natterjack toads. Produced by Elizabeth Burke A Loftus production for BBC Radio 3.

Nick Davies has been teasing apart the dark relationship between the cuckoo and the birds it tricks into bringing up its young, for more than three decades. The Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Cambridge has spent more than 30 springs and summers on nearby fenland of watching, recording and crucially experimenting. Nick's studies have deployed simple yet ingenious experiments, among the reed beds where the birds nest. They have involved mock eggs, stuffed birds and miniature loudspeakers, to piece together the cuckoo's dark story. He has even swopped cuckoo chicks with blackbird nestlings in the nests of the feathered parasite's victims. No birds are harmed in his revealing tests. Prof Davies also talks to Jim al-Khalili about the origins of his life with birds, and the revolution in animal behaviour science beginning as he began his scientific career. Ideas about the selfish gene and game theory, along with DNA fingerprint in the 1980's, transformed the research of zoologists asking 'why' questions about what animals do. Producer: Andrew Luck-Baker.

In the final paragraph of The Origin of Species, Charles Darwin leaves us with the vision of Nature as an “entangled bank”, where individuals struggle to survive and reproduce in a world of competitors, predators and parasites. In this lecture, I shall explore the games animals play in these struggles. Some are behavioural games, resulting in an extraordinary mix of cooperation and conflict in animal families, where sexual partners and parents and their offspring sometimes help one another, but sometimes cheat. Some are games played over evolutionary time, where strategies escalate over the generations between competitors, and between enemies and their victims, leading to extremes, not only in weaponry and cruelty, but in ornamentation and beauty, too. I shall illustrate these themes especially with examples of mating games in birds and evolutionary arms races between cuckoos and their hosts, to show how the rules of the games can be unravelled by a combination of bird watching and field experiments. Biography Nick Davies is Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Pembroke College. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society and in 2015 he gave the Croonian Lecture. His book “Cuckoo – Cheating by Nature” was published recently by Bloomsbury.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Behavioural Ecology, the scientific study of animal behaviour. What factors influence where and what an animal chooses to eat? Why do some animals mate for life whilst others are promiscuous? Behavioural ecologists approach questions like these using Darwin's theory of natural selection, along with ideas drawn from game theory and the economics of consumer choice. Scientists had always been interested in why animals behave as they do, but before behavioural ecology this area of zoology never got much beyond a collection of interesting anecdotes. Behavioural ecology gave researchers techniques for constructing rigorous mathematical models of how animals act under different circumstances, and for predicting how they will react if circumstances change. Behavioural ecology emerged as a branch of zoology in the second half of the 20th century and proponents say it revolutionized our understanding of animals in their environments. GUESTS Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College London Rebecca Kilner, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Cambridge John Krebs, Principal of Jesus College at the University of Oxford Producer: Luke Mulhall.

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Behavioural Ecology, the scientific study of animal behaviour. What factors influence where and what an animal chooses to eat? Why do some animals mate for life whilst others are promiscuous? Behavioural ecologists approach questions like these using Darwin's theory of natural selection, along with ideas drawn from game theory and the economics of consumer choice. Scientists had always been interested in why animals behave as they do, but before behavioural ecology this area of zoology never got much beyond a collection of interesting anecdotes. Behavioural ecology gave researchers techniques for constructing rigorous mathematical models of how animals act under different circumstances, and for predicting how they will react if circumstances change. Behavioural ecology emerged as a branch of zoology in the second half of the 20th century and proponents say it revolutionized our understanding of animals in their environments. GUESTS Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College London Rebecca Kilner, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Cambridge John Krebs, Principal of Jesus College at the University of Oxford Producer: Luke Mulhall.

Professor Tim Birkhead explores sexual selection in the animal world. Tim Birkhead is Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Sheffield. An award-winning teacher and author, Tim has inspired generations of research scientists and wildlife experts.

Stay out of the sun! New research suggests that the skin colour change associated with sun tanning isn't as attractive as the effects of eating carotenoid-rich fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, pumpkins, and spinach. Can an attractive personality make you appear more attractive? And we find out why when women see red, women see red.Plus, as a special summer surprise, Hannah Rowland of the Behavioural Ecology and Evolution Podcast interviews Brian Mautz at the ISBE2014 conference about his research on penis size and attractiveness. Download the MP3I was interviewed by Prof. Alice Roberts this month for an episode of BBC Radio 4's Inside Science. Click here and skip to 24.40 to hear me defend Evolutionary Psychology with all my (feeble) might! Rate me! Rate, review, or listen in iTunes or in Stitcher. Scoff the orange, but scoff it in the shade: new research by Carmen Lefevre shows that the skin colour we get from eating carotenoid rich foods is more attractive than the colour we get from tanning.The articles covered in the show:Mautz, B. S., Wong, B. B. M., Peters, R. A., & Jennions, M. D. (2013). Penis size interacts with body shape and height to influence male attractiveness. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 110(17), 6925-6930. Read summaryLefevre, C. E., & Perrett, D. I. (in press). Fruit over sunbed: Carotenoid skin coloration is found more attractive than melanin coloration. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. Read summaryZhang, Y., Kong, F., Zhong, Y., & Kou, H. (2014). Personality manipulations: Do they modulate facial attractiveness ratings? Personality and Individual Differences, 70, 80-84. Read summaryPazda, A. D., Prokop, P., & Elliot, A. J. (in press). Red and romantic rivalry: viewing another woman in red increases perceptions of sexual receptivity, derogration, and intentions to mate-guard. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. Read summary

This month over 1000 scientists flocked to New York's Hunter College to attend the meeting of the International Society for Behavioural Ecology or ISBE. In the coming months I will be featuring interviews from researchers who attended the meeting, and this month, my first interviewee is Tom White from Macquarie university in Australia, who told me about spider he studies that is very good at attracting bees and flies. I also find out about a secret communication channel in horses, and in the Scientific Spark, I met actress and model and new student of animal behaviour, Isabella Rossellini, and asked her how she made the leap from the big screen to studying the science of behaviour. Download the MP3 Quicklinks: Tom White's twitter pageTom White's webpageCurrent Biology paper on horse communication webpageIsabella Rossellini's mammas

This month, the masters of disguise: I find out about an animal that can mimic two different species, for two entirely different reasons. I learn about a colourful bird from New Zealand called the Hihi, who's very good at eating its requisite 7 portions of fruit and veg a day. And in the Scientific Spark, I hear from Neil Metcalfe, Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Glasgow, about what made him interested in research and how he came to study for a PhD on seabird ecology. Download the MP3Male Hihi. Image courtesy of Matt Gribble ZSLhttp://www.zsl.org/conservation/regions/oceania/hihi-conservation-in-new-zealandQuicklinks: Thanh Lan's paper on cuckoo-hawk mimicryHihi conservation webpageNeil Metacalfe's webpage

Associate Professor Peter Biro, Professor in Behavioural Ecology talks about his research into rapidly declining fish populations, and what we can do to combat this problem.