Podcasts about linnean society

“Serendipity is a real grabbing force of science,” says Léo Laborieux as he shares his experience describing his new species of scorpion. While at a remote research station in the Colombian rainforest, Léo found a handful of scorpions that exhibited a unique venom ‘flicking' behavior. Armed only with his phone and a few basic supplies, Léo documented the behavior, diagnosed the scorpions as being a new species, and came to fascinating conclusions about venom biomechanics. In this episode he brings us deep into the world of scorpion venoms and shares his love of these creatures and their startling diversity.Léo Laborieux' paper “Biomechanics of venom delivery in South America's first toxungen-spraying scorpion” is in the December 2024 edition of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae161A transcript of this episode can be found here: Léo Laborieux - TranscriptNew Species: Tityus achillesEpisode image credit: Léo LaborieuxLéo's first new species from a mountain near his hometown: https://doi.org/10.57800/faunitaxys-10(47)Follow Léo on Instagram @lhommedesboasOr connect on Bluesky @6legsandup.blsky.socialRead his papers on Researchgate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Leo_Laborieux?ev=hdr_xprfScrappy Science: https://www.scrappyscience.orgGlobal Alliance of Community Science Workshops: https://www.communityscienceworkshops.orgOther scorpion episodes from this podcast: Prakrit JainJavier Blasco-ArósteguiBe sure to follow New Species on Bluesky (@newspeciespodcast.bsky.social) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast).Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom)If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.comIf you would like to support this podcast and enjoy bonus episodes, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

A fun inspiration - on GARDENING DAY!Beatrix Potter

The Snowflake FairyRobed in white comes Snowflake Fairy,braving wintry winds and ice,pearly "Maid of February,"whom the glistening frosts entice.Gladly welcome Snowflake Fairy,on your terrace give her room.She alone in Februarybraves the cold to shed her bloom.—Elizabeth GordonMusic by James Milor from PixabayInformation provided by:Flowers and Their Meanings: The Secret Language and History of Over 600 Blooms by Karen Azoulay (2023)https://www.bloomandwild.com/the-blog/snowdrop-flowers-meaninghttps://www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/plant_profiles/snowdropsPlants That Kill: A Natural History of the World's Most Poisonous Plants by Elizabeth A. Dauncey and Sonny Larson (2018)Galanthus trojanus: a new species of Galanthus (Amaryllidaceae) from north-western Turkey by Aaron P. Davis and Neriman Ozhatay (2001). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 137, pg. 409-412. DOI: 10.1006/boj1.2001.048.Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs of Eastern and Central North America (3rd ed.) by Steven Foster and James A. Duke (2014)https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:77118772-1/general-informationGalantamine for Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment by Clement Loy and Lon Schneider (2006). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001747.pub3https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/galanthus-nivalis/Homer's Moly identified as Galanthus nivalis L.: Physiologic antidote to stramonium poisoning by Andreas Plaitakis and Roger C. Duvoisin (1983). Clinical Neuropharmacology, 6(1), pg. 1-6. [Abstract]. Collins Gem: Wild Flowers by Martin Walter (2002)https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galanthushttps://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/plants/wild-flowers/snowdrop/

When some human societies made the shift from wild, procured foods to domesticated, produced foods there is a corresponding decline in the health of those people in the archaeological record. Today, the majority of people eat domesticated staples, and our health has taken a huge decline on a global scale. Wild foods are an important nutritional component to the human diet. Rewilding can mean rekindling the relationship to wild foods that humans have historically had. To talk with me about this on the Rewilding Podcast, is Monica Wilde. Monica Wilde, known as Mo, is an ethnobotanist and research herbalist. She lives in Scotland in a self-built wooden house where she's created a wild, teaching garden on 4 organic acres, encouraging edible and medicinal species to make their home. Mo holds a Masters degree in Herbal Medicine, is a Fellow of the Linnean Society, a Member of the British Mycological Society and a Member of the Association of Foragers, which she helped to found in 2015. She has been teaching foraging and herbal medicine for several decades. Mo wrote the award-winning book The Wilderness Cure: Ancient Wisdom in a Modern World, in 2022, that imparts what she learned from her year of living on only wild foods. Afterwards she started the Wildbiome® Project - a citizen science study tracking the health changes seen on wild food diets. The next arm of the study is in April 2025.Monica's InstagramWild Biome Project InstagramThe Wildbiome™️ Project ResultsThe Wilderness CureThe Ethnobiology of Contemporary British Foragers: Foods They Teach, Their Sources of Inspiration and ImpactSupport the show

Aldrich Kemp and the gang are back with some new faces as the race for the mysterious and elusive Rose of Pamir moves from London to Paris, New York to Amsterdam and the Maldives to Tajikistan.Chapter Two: The Music BoxClara Page's investigation of the Linnean Society break-in provided the first clues in the search and now Clara and Aldrich are heading south-west in a bid to beat the other side. Whoever they are...Clara Page - Phoebe Fox Aldrich Kemp – Ferdinand Kingsley Mrs Boone – Nicola Walker Sebastian Harcourt & Dutch Interviewer – Kyle Soller Aunt Lily – Susan Jameson The Underwood Sisters – Jana Carpenter Mrs Bartholomew – Kate Isitt Lionel – Steven Mackintosh Selina & Miss Evesham – Catherine Kanter Mister Dalton – Karl DaviesWritten and directed by Julian Simpson Music composed by Tim Elsenburg.Sound Design: David Thomas Producer: Sarah Tombling Production Assistant: Ethan Elsenburg Executive Producer: Karen RoseNew episodes available on Fridays. Listen first on BBC SoundsA Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4

A break-in at the Linnean Society triggers a race for the mysterious and elusive Rose of Pamir. Clara Page and the Themis Group are on one side, but who is on the other? Aldrich Kemp and the gang are back with some new faces as the race moves from London to Paris, New York to Amsterdam and the Maldives to Tajikistan.Chapter One: Mothers... and daughters take centre stage.Clara Page - Phoebe Fox Aldrich Kemp – Ferdinand Kingsley Mrs Boone – Nicola Walker Nakesha Kemp – Karla Crome Aunt Lily – Susan Jameson The Underwood Sisters – Jana Carpenter Mrs Bartholomew – Kate Isitt Lionel – Steven Mackintosh Selina – Catherine Kanter Hazlitt & Sir Peregrine – Ben Crowe Recruitment Consultant – Bec BoeyWritten and directed by Julian Simpson Music composed by Tim Elsenburg.Sound Design: David Thomas Producer: Sarah Tombling Production Assistant: Ethan Elsenburg Executive Producer: Karen RoseNew episodes available on Fridays. Listen first on BBC SoundsA Sweet Talk production for BBC Radio 4

Turtles have personalities and these can be influenced by the environments they live in, with urban environments seemingly changing the way turtle populations behave. Plus we talk about a chunky new toad species. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Carlson BE, Carter SE, Hulbert AC, Hyslop NL, Free Kashon EA, Kimble SJA, Lisk J, McElroy C, Mook JL, Refsnider JM, Roe JH, Tetzlaff SJ, Windmiller B. 2024. Intrapopulation variation in boldness differs while average boldness is similar across populations of a widespread turtle. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 78:64. DOI: 10.1007/s00265-024-03480-5. Species of the Bi-Week: Caicedo-Martínez LS, Henao-Osorio JJ, Arias-Monsalve HF, Rojas-Morales JA, Ossa-López PA, Rivera-Páez FA, Ramírez-Chaves HE. 2024. A new species of terrestrial toad of the Rhinella festae group (Anura, Bufonidae) from the highlands of the Central Cordillera of the Andes of Colombia. ZooKeys 1196:149–175. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1196.114861. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Marr MM, Hopkins K, Tapley B, Borzée A, Liang Z, Cunningham AA, Yan F, Wang J, Turvey ST. 2024. What's in a name? Using species delimitation to inform conservation practice for Chinese giant salamanders (Andrias spp.). Evolutionary Journal of the Linnean Society 3:kzae007. DOI: 10.1093/evolinnean/kzae007. Editing and Music: Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com Intro visuals – Paul Snelling

The gang discusses two papers that use new fossils to add insight into the geographic origins of groups. The first paper looks at some fossil freshwater dolphins and the second paper looks at fossil jumping spiders. The gang also uses these two papers to talk about a lot of other things because, despite being short papers, there is a lot of related things to talk about. Meanwhile, James is pretty sure he read the papers, Curt has very uninformed opinions, and Amanda gives everyone a panic attack.   Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition): The friends talk about two papers that use old animals to see where animals may have been in the past. The first paper looks at animals with hair that live in the water and have moved into water that you and I can drink. This is a paper about one group of these animals and some bits of an old animal that were found in a place very far away from where these animals are today. This might mean that these animals moved into water than you and I could drink many times over the years and in many places. The second paper looks at a small animal with many legs and hair that eats other small things. These animals are hard to find parts of in the past, but this paper finds a really nice one in a place that is important for understanding how they got where they are today. This group is found in areas that were close to each other in the past but have moved further away. This old animal being found where it is gives us more ideas about how these animals got to where they are today.   References: Benites-Palomino, Aldo, et al. "The largest freshwater odontocete: A South Asian river dolphin relative from the proto-Amazonia." Science advances 10.12 (2024): eadk6320. Richardson, Barry J., Matthew R. McCurry, and Michael Frese. "Description and evolutionary biogeography of the first Miocene jumping spider (Aranaea: Salticidae) from a southern continent." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 200.4 (2024): 1013-1025.

Plantas carnívoras ou plantas insetívoras são plantas que possuem a capacidade de atrair, capturar, digerir e absorver nutrientes de pequenos animais. Separe trinta minutinhos do seu dia e descubra, com a Mila Massuda, o que são plantas carnívoras, suas estratégias de captura de presas e por que elas surgiram. Apresentação: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda) Roteiro: Mila Massuda (@milamassuda) e Emilio Garcia (@emilioblablalogia) Edição: Clayton Heringer (@tocalivros) e Juscelino Filho (@canalmusicalia) Produção: Prof. Vítor Soares (@profvitorsoares) @Matheus_Heredia e BláBláLogia (@blablalogia) Gravado e editado nos estúdios TocaCast Quer ir além dos trinta minutinhos e se aprofundar no mundo da Ecologia? CURSO DE ECOLOGIA POR APENAS R$42,00 https://cursosdebiologia.hotmart.host/ REFERÊNCIAS: Darwin, F. 1876. The Process of Aggregation in the Tentacles of Drosera rotundifolia. Journal of Cell Science, s2-16(63), 309–319 Darwin, C. 1877. The Contractile Filaments of the Teasel. Nature 16, 339. Darwin, F. 1877. On the protrusion of protoplasmic filaments from the glandular hairs of the common teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris). (Abstract.) [Read 1 March 1877.] Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 26: 4–8. Darwin, F. 1877. On the Protrusion of Protoplasmic Filaments from the Glandular Hairs on the Leaves of the Common Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris). Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, s2-17(67), 245–272. Darwin, F. 1878. Experiments on the Nutrition of Drosera rotundifolia. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 17(98), 17–31. Darwin, F. 1878. The Contractile Filaments of Amanita (Agaricus) Muscaria and Dipsacus Sylvestris. Journal of Cell Science, s2-18(69), 74–82. Darwin, C. 1888. Insectivorous plants. 2d ed. Revised by Francis Darwin. London: John Murray. Ellison AM, Adamec L. 2018b. Introduction: what is a carnivorous plant? In: Ellison AM, Adamec L, editors. Carnivorous plants: physiology, ecology, and evolution. Oxford: Oxford University Press; p. 3–6. Krupa, J. J., & Thomas, J. M. 2019. Is the common teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) carnivorous or was Francis Darwin wrong? Botany, 97(6), 321–328. Shaw, P. J. A., & Shackleton, K. 2011. Carnivory in the Teasel Dipsacus fullonum—The Effect of Experimental Feeding on Growth and Seed Set. PLOS ONE, 6(3), e17935.

Giant garter snakes are big beasts that like wetland areas - we chat about how they get on when faced with the challenge of moving to a new wetland. Then, a brand new species of banded venomous snake has been discovered in Thailand. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Nguyen AM, Halstead BJ, Todd BD. 2024. Effect of translocation on home range and movements of giant gartersnakes. Global Ecology and Conservation 49:e02789. DOI: 10.1016/j.gecco.2023.e02789. Species of the Bi-Week: Aksornneam A, Rujirawan A, Yodthong S, Sung Y-H, Aowphol A. 2024. A new species of krait of the genus Bungarus (Squamata, Elapidae) from Ratchaburi Province, western Thailand. Zoosystematics and Evolution 100:141–154. DOI: 10.3897/zse.100.116601 Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Booth, C. L. (1990). Evolutionary significance of ontogenetic colour change in animals. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 40(2), 125-163. Editing and Music: Podcast edited by Alex – https://www.fiverr.com/alexanderroses Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Nemea has a lion waiting for Heracles. Expect stories of fighting in caves, thirty-day deadlines and a king cowering in a jar... Sources for this episode: Alden, M. (2005), Lions in Paradise. The Classical Quarterly 55(2):335-342. Evelyn-White, H. G. (1943), Hesiod: The Homeric Hymns and Homerica. London: William Heinemann Ltd. Frazer, J. G. (1921), Apollodorus: The Library (Volume I). London: William Heinemann. Guerber, H. A. (1929), The Myths of Greece & Rome: Their Stories Signification and Origin. London: George G. Harrap & Company Ltd. Masetti, M. and Mazza, P. P. A. (2013), Western European Quaternary lions: new working hypotheses. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 109: 66-77. Oldfather, C. H. (translator, 1953), Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes. Volume II: Books II (continued), 35-IV, 58. London and Cambridge, Massachusetts: William Heinemann Ltd. and Harvard University Press. Stuart, A. J. and Lister, A. M. (2011), Extinction chronology of the cave lion Panthera spelea. Quaternary Science Reviews: 2329-2340. Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Nemea (online) (Accessed 20/02/2024).

fWotD Episode 2538: William T. Stearn Welcome to featured Wiki of the Day where we read the summary of the featured Wikipedia article every day.The featured article for Tuesday, 16 April 2024 is William T. Stearn.William Thomas Stearn (; 16 April 1911 – 9 May 2001) was a British botanist. Born in Cambridge in 1911, he was largely self-educated and developed an early interest in books and natural history. His initial work experience was at a Cambridge bookshop, but he also had a position as an assistant in the university botany department. At the age of 29 he married Eldwyth Ruth Alford, who later became his collaborator, and he died in London in 2001.While at the bookshop, he was offered a position as a librarian at the Royal Horticultural Society in London (1933–1952). From there he moved to the Natural History Museum as a scientific officer in the botany department (1952–1976). After his retirement, he continued working there, writing, and serving on a number of professional bodies related to his work, including the Linnean Society, of which he became president. He also taught botany at Cambridge University as a visiting professor (1977–1983).Stearn is known for his work in botanical taxonomy and botanical history, particularly classical botanical literature, botanical illustration and for his studies of the Swedish scientist Carl Linnaeus. His best known books are his Dictionary of Plant Names for Gardeners, a popular guide to the scientific names of plants, and his Botanical Latin for scientists.Stearn received many honours for his work, at home and abroad, and was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1997. Considered one of the most eminent British botanists of his time, he is remembered by an essay prize in his name from the Society for the History of Natural History, and a named cultivar of Epimedium, one of many genera he produced monographs on. He is the botanical authority for over 400 plants that he named and described.This recording reflects the Wikipedia text as of 00:33 UTC on Tuesday, 16 April 2024.For the full current version of the article, see William T. Stearn on Wikipedia.This podcast uses content from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.Visit our archives at wikioftheday.com and subscribe to stay updated on new episodes.Follow us on Mastodon at @wikioftheday@masto.ai.Also check out Curmudgeon's Corner, a current events podcast.Until next time, I'm Kimberly Neural.

We are relatively familiar with modern snake bite advice, but what snakes did the ancient Egyptians deal with? Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Merch: https://www.redbubble.com/people/herphighlights/shop Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: McBride E, Winder IC, Wüster W. 2023. What Bit the Ancient Egyptians? Niche Modelling to Identify the Snakes Described in the Brooklyn Medical Papyrus. Environmental Archaeology:1–14. DOI: 10.1080/14614103.2023.2266631. Species of the Bi-Week: Liedtke HC, Malonza PK, Wasonga DV, Müller H, Loader SP. 2023. A new genus and species of toad from Mount Kenya illuminates East African montane biogeography. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society:zlad160. DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad160. Other Links/Mentions: Ross Mcgibbon calendars https://rmrphotography.com.au/2024-fundraising-calendar/  Editing and Music: Podcast edited by Emmy – https://www.fiverr.com/emmyk10  Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

INSPIRED BY BEES. Stephen Buchmann is a pollination ecologist specializing in bees. He is an Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Entomology and Ecology & Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona and a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London who works towards a world where nature is understood, valued and protected. In his most recent book What a Bee Knows Buchmann explores the thoughts, memories and personalities of bees.

Upon completion of his PhD degree in insect systematics from Ohio State University in 1980, under the direction of Professor Charles A. Triplehorn, Wheeler joined the faculty of Cornell University where he was professor for 24 years, serving terms as chair of both the Department of Entomology and the Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium.Taking a leave of absence from Cornell, Wheeler became director of the Division of Environmental Biology at the National Science Foundation. Next, he accepted an appointment as Keeper and Head of Entomology in The Natural History Museum in London, England.Returning to the U.S., Wheeler was named Virginia M. Ullman professor of Natural History and the Environment, senior Sustainability Scientist, director of the International Institute for Species Exploration, vice president, and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in Arizona State University. Most recently, he was president of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.Wheeler created the annual Top 10 New Species list (soon to be relaunched) and has named more than one hundred species new to science. He was a columnist for the Guardian newspaper in London for several years, reporting on recently discovered species in his feature "New to Nature." Wheeler has published more than 170 scientific papers and seven books.Currently, he is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Distinguished Science Counselor to the Board of the New York Botanical Garden, and Research Associate of the American Museum of Natural History. Wheeler continues to advocate for taxonomy, biodiversity exploration and conservation, and natural history collections through professional engagement, writing, podcasting, and lecturing.Wheeler's next book, Species, Science and Society, will present a bold vision for the future of taxonomy, species exploration and conservation, and biomimicry.Website quentinwheeler.godaddysites.comBooks What on Earth? 100 of Our Planet's Most Amazing New Species Species, Science and Societies____________________________________________________________________________Links to California Haunts EventsSturgeon Moon Meditation https://www.meetup.com/california-haunts/events/294964759/Psychic Development Class 1https://www.meetup.com/california-haunts/events/294879461/

When a scientist comes on the podcast, we always ask them how they named their new species. It's a privilege that comes with a species description, and we've seen firsthand how different that answer can be. For some it's a straightforward geographic name, for others it's about morphology, and still others name after collectors, celebrities, or loved ones. Dr. Stefano Mammola wants to know why. Beginning in 2020 he and a team of researchers from all over the world analyzed 48,464 etymologies across nearly 300 years to examine naming trends in spider taxonomy to answer the question, “what's in a spider name?” They cite many different projects (including this podcast!) and, as Stefano shares in this interview, come across some real surprises along the way. Stefano Mammola's paper “Taxonomic practice, creativity, and fashion: What's in a spider name?” is in the February 13th issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. It can be found here: https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac097 A transcript of this conversation can be found here: Transcript - Stefano Mammola Episode image courtesy of Stefano Mammola Check out Stefano's website: https://publications.cnr.it/authors/stefano.mammola And his twitter: @stefanomammola1 Check out this data and more on the World Spider Catalog Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies) and Instagram (@NewSpeciesPodcast) and like the podcast page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast) Music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom) If you have questions or feedback about this podcast, please e-mail us at NewSpeciesPodcast@gmail.com If you would like to support this podcast, please consider doing so at https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPod

Stephen Buchmann is a pollination ecologist specializing in bees and an adjunct professor with the departments of Entomology and of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Arizona. A Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, he has published over 150 peer-reviewed scientific papers and eleven books, including The Forgotten Pollinators with Gary Nabhan (Island Press, 1996) and, most recently, The Reason for Flowers: Their History, Culture, Biology, and How They Change Our Lives (Scribner, 2015). Buchmann is a frequent guest on many public media venues including NPR's All Things Considered, and Science Friday. Reviews of his books have appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Time and Discover magazines and other national publications. He is an engaging public speaker on topics of flowers, pollinators, and the natural world. His many awards include the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, and an NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book. For many of us, the buzzing of a bee elicits panic. But the next time you hear that low droning sound, look closer: the bee has navigated to this particular spot for a reason using a fascinating set of tools. She may be using her sensitive olfactory organs, which provide a 3D scent map of her surroundings. She may be following visual landmarks or instructions relayed by a hive-mate. She may even be tracking electrostatic traces left on flowers by other bees. What a Bee Knows: Exploring the Thoughts, Memories, and Personalities of Bees invites us to follow bees' mysterious paths and experience their alien world. Although their brains are incredibly small—just one million neurons compared to humans' 100 billion—bees have remarkable abilities to navigate, learn, communicate, and remember. In What a Bee Knows, entomologist Stephen Buchmann explores a bee's way of seeing the world and introduces the scientists who make the journey possible. We travel into the field and to the laboratories of noted bee biologists who have spent their careers digging into the questions most of us never thought to ask (for example: Do bees dream? And if so, why?). With each discovery, Buchmann's insatiable curiosity and sense of wonder is infectious. What a Bee Knows will challenge your idea of a bee's place in the world—and perhaps our own. This lively journey into a bee's mind reminds us that the world is more complex than our senses can tell us. www.stephenbuchmann.com

Nesse #valeAPenaOuvirDeNovo trazemos o episódio em que nosso host supremo recebeu os grandes taxonomistas Prof. Dr. Fabio Nascimento e Prof. Dr. Anderson Feijó! E também com a participação especial do Prof. Dr. Guilherme Garbino. Entenda a rotina, os desafios e os perrengues de se trabalhar com taxonomia e como é feita a revisão taxonômica de espécies! E não para por aí! Entenda o processo e a proposta de divisão das espécies de gatos-palheiros, um dos felinos mais "discretos" da América do Sul! Anderson Feijó é doutor em Ciências Biológicas pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba. Atualmente, é pesquisador do Instituto de Zoologia da Academia Chinesa de Ciências em Pequim. Desenvolve projetos em taxonomia e sistemática de mamíferos neotropicais e asiáticos e os utiliza como modelos para detectar e explicar padrões biogeográficos. Seus projetos focam em adaptações morfológicas às altas altitudes e aos fatores que levaram a grande diversidade de mamíferos na região do Tibet. Fábio Nascimento possui graduação em Bacharelado pelo Instituto de Biociências da USP, graduação em Licenciatura pela Faculdade de Educação da USP, mestrado em Ciências Biológicas/Zoologia pelo Instituto de Biociências da USP e doutorado em Ciências Biológicas/Zoologia pelo Instituto de Biociências da USP. Tem experiência na área de Zoologia, com ênfase em Taxonomia dos Grupos Recentes, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: Felidae, Carnivora, taxonomia, evolução e distribuição geográfica. Artigo de revisão taxonômica do complexo colocola: Fabio Oliveira Do Nascimento, Jilong Cheng, Anderson Feijó, Taxonomic revision of the pampas cat Leopardus colocola complex (Carnivora: Felidae): an integrative approach, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 191, Issue 2, February 2021, Pages 575–611, https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa043 Dá uma força para manter o DesAbraçando online e com episódios no cronograma contribuindo financeiramente com nosso projeto: O DesAbraçando é um projeto independente e conta com o apoio dos ouvintes para se manter online e pagar a edição de áudio. Se você curte o projeto, considere apoiar financeiramente. Você pode contribuir a partir de R$ 1,00 no www.apoia.se/desabrace Segue a gente lá nas redes sociais: https://www.instagram.com/desabrace/Instagram https://web.facebook.com/desabrace/Facebook https://twitter.com/desabrace Canal no Telegram: https://t.me/desabrace Visite nossa página: https://www.desabrace.com.br Envie suas pedradas: primeirapedra@desabrace.com.br Envie sua resposta para o "Que bicho é esse?": bicho@desabrace.com.br Produção, apresentação e edição: Fernando Lima Decupagem: Senhor A

Summary: Now that we know about the existence of caecilians. Let's talk about how caecilians make more caecilians! Join Kiersten as she walks us through the various ways caecilians reproduce.   For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.   Show Notes: “The Care and Captive Breeding of the Caecilian Typhlonectes natans” by Richard Parkinson. Herpetological Bulletin, 2004, Number 88.   “Reproductive ecology of female caecilian amphibians (genus Ichthyophis): a baseline study” by Alexander Kupfer, Jarujin Nabhitabhata, Werner Himstedt. Boiological Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol 83, Issue 2, October 2004, pg 207-217. *cool egg pictures in this paper “Life history and reproduction of the neotropical caecilian Siphonops annulatus with special emphasis on parental care” by Carlos Jared, Pedro Luiz Mailho-Fontana, Simone G. S. Jared, Alexander Kupfer, Jacques Hubert Charles Delabie, Mark Wilkinson, and Marta Maria Antoniazzi. Acta Zoological, Vol 100, Issue 3, pg 292-302.     Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops) Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I'm Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right out side our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. This episode continues caecilians and the seventh thing I like about these hidden gems is how they reproduce. When it comes to reproduction most animals will reproduce in one of three ways. If you are viviparous, you give live birth to young that have developed in your uterus. If you are ovoviviparous, you give live birth to young that have developed inside eggs that are incubated in your uterus. These young are typically born with a yolk that helps nourish the young for a few days after birth. If you are oviparous, then you lay eggs that are incubated outside the body by parental warm or substrate covering. There are animals out there that reproduce in other ways, but these are the three main ways of animal reproduction. Caecilians use two of these reproductive techniques. Of the caecilians we know of today, they are either oviparous or viviparous.  Let's take a look at our oviparous species' first. Some research has been done on species in Family Ichthyophiidae. These species lay eggs and their young go through an aquatic larval stage. The species studied in this particular research was found in Thailand and individuals were observed in the wild as well as in captivity.  It was actually one of the first times caecilians in this family had been studied in situ, which means on site in their natural habitat. Ichthyophis kohtaoensis was studied for three consecutive years and researchers discovered many previously unknown behaviors.  When we talk about reproduction in most species, it tends to revolve around certain times of the year. Very few animals are like humans and reproduce anytime of the year. Most amphibians found in tropical areas jump into breeding mode at the start of monsoon season, so one of the first questions researchers asked is whether this would be the same for caecilians. The answer they found was a bit of yes and a bit of no. Just like other amphibians, caecilians breeding season was cyclical and revolved around the rainy season. But actual mating appeared to begin at the end of the dry season before the rains came and continued into the beginning of the rainy season. Egg laying typically happened after the rainy season had already begun. When it comes to parental care, if there is any given, it is the female only. Ichthyophis kohtaoensis does incubate eggs for approximately three months. Toward the end of the dry season, females will begin to gain weight in anticipation of remaining in a nest to guard and incubate eggs. The average number of eggs is 37 with a range of 22-58 eggs laid in one nest. Larger females tended to have larger clutch sizes. The eggs are round and clear, so you can see the developmental stages of the young inside. The pictures they included in their  scientific paper were pretty cool! The nest site is extremely important because the larval stage of this caecilian is spent in the water. Females will chose a site with softer substrate such as sand, loose soil beneath tree roots, and sandy clay loam under grass tufts. Every nest found was between seven to nine feet from the edge of a freshwater source. The sources were varied including standing ponds and pools, slow moving brooks and rivers, and large seasonal ponds. Once the eggs hatch the young make their way into the water and are on their own. Field studies and captive observations indicate a long larval period so the chosen body of water needs to last long enough for the young to survive through this period to adulthood. This pattern of reproduction is only one option for oviparous species. Another pattern lengthens the parental care window and has been well studied n only one species, Siphonops annulatus. Unlike Ichthyophis kohtaoensis, the young of Siphonops annulatus do not have an aquatic larval stage. When the young of this caecilian hatch they remain in the underground nest with the mother.  Breeding season occurs about about the same time as our previous caecilian, beginning at the end of the dry season. Females gain weight at this time and lay eggs after the rainy season has begun. This is more support for the hypothesis that caecilian reproduction is cyclical and follows the seasonal changes revolving around monsoon season because this pattern has now been seen in two species from different countries. Ichthyophis kohtaoensis is found in India and Siphonops annulatus is found in Brazil. The observations reported in the study on Siphonops annulatus were collected over a period of ten years and were gathered in situ and in captivity.  The young of Siphonops annulatus hatch after about a month but remain in the underground nest with the mother for approximately four months. This species practices dermatophagy which means they eat skin. Specifically the young eat the outer layer of their mother's skin. Part of the weight that the female gains before egg laying includes a thickening of the outer layer of her skin. This layer bulks up with nutritious fatty lipids that the young scrape off using special baby teeth that they lose when they leave the nest.  In captivity, young have also been seen congregating around the mother's cloaca, which is the orifice near the end of the tail, consuming a liquid. We don't currently know what this substance is but it may be another nutritious liquid for the young. After four months of feeding on mom in the nest, the young will emerge into the world and be on their own. Siphonops annulatus lay fewer eggs than Ichthyophis kohtaoensis and this may be due to the intensive parental care Siphonops annulatus provides. The last form of reproduction in caecilians is live birth and we're going to look at one of the most well studied species of viviparous caecilians, Typhlonectes natans. Hopefully you remember from previous episodes that this species is an aquatic caecilian, living their entire lives in the water. The information about the breeding behaviors of this species comes mostly from captive specimens, so this information needs to be taken with a little grain of salt because animals always act a little different in captivity than they would in the wild. These behaviors have been in several different individuals; therefore, we feel fairly comfortable saying this is what happens in the wild.  Once again, it appears that breeding behaviors are influenced by monsoon season, but in a slightly different way than with our egg-laying species. The dry season that comes before monsoon season is when Typhlonectes natans is triggered to begin breeding. Then the females will carry their young through the following rainy season and give birth when the next dry season begins. We have no proven information why this happens, yet, but using some inference, this pattern probably provides females with more consistent access to food while they are pregnant. They carry their young for about 10 months, so it's important to be healthy and well fed.  The young are born in the dry season when waters are lower and calmer. This makes it easier for them to get to the surface of the water and that is important because Typhlonectes natans must surface to breath air. The young are in danger of drowning if they can't breath air from the surface of the water.  While they are growing inside mom, the young scrap a secretion from the mother's uterine wall to nourish themselves. They have small fetal teeth that help them collect these nutrients. I can't believe there is another species of caecilian that eats its mother!  The developing young also have gills which allows the female to pass oxygen to them in utero. When the young are born, the gills are already gone or disappear within two days. After birth the young will begin to eat small, soft invertebrates within a few days and do not rely on mom for anything.  Females are not the only one's involved in the reproductive process. Let's take a quick moment, because that's all it's going to take, to talk about what the male contributes to the next generation of caecilians. Unlike all other amphibians, that we currently know of, caecilian reproduction is internal. Most amphibians lay eggs that are fertilized after they are laid. Caecilian males have a phallodeum which is an organ that they use to pass sperm into the female through her cloaca. No other amphibian does this. With every episode I make, these caecilians become more and more fascinating. Whether in the water or underground, the males and females twine their bodies together aligning their cloacas up with each other. Then the male inserts his phallodeum into her cloaca and passes her his sperm. A month after mating eggs are either laid or pregnancy indicators, such as weight gain and size growth, are seen.   All of the behaviors I talked about in this episode are based on observations of just a few species of caecilians and may not apply to other species. There is so much more we have to learn about them and hopefully we'll be able to do that in the future. That's all I wrote about caecilian reproduction and I trust hope you found it as fascinating as I did because it is my seventh favorite thing about the unknown amphibian.   If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.    Join me next week for another thing I like about caecilians!   (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

My guest for this episode of the Eatweeds podcast is the remarkable Mo' Wilde. An author and experienced foraging teacher, Mo' has done something few could even contemplate: she lived for a full year completely sustained by wild food. Her fascinating journey and profound insights will have you rethinking your daily meals and your connection to the world around you.Key topics for this episode include: The incredible diversity of the microbiome and its importance for gut health. The essential practice of foraging and how it connects us to our ancestors. The astounding variety and nutritional richness of wild food. An in-depth discussion on food choices, their impact on our bodies, and the environment. Throughout the episode, Mo' shares the highs and lows of her year on wild food, detailing how it impacted her health, wellbeing, and particularly her microbiome. You'll hear about the changes she observed, the challenges she faced, and how the experience deepened her connection with nature.Robin and Mo' also delve into thought-provoking discussions about our food choices and how they directly influence not only our personal health, but the health of our soil and the broader ecosystem. Mo's unique perspective brings a refreshing and much-needed critique of our contemporary food systems, inspiring listeners to consider their own role within these systems.Join us for Episode 44 of Eatweeds, 'A Year on Wild Food', and take a step into the wild side of nutrition and ecological awareness. Whether you're a seasoned forager or just starting your wild food journey, this episode is a trove of knowledge, inspiration, and food for thought.Connect with Mo Wilde Website Facebook Instagram Twitter Selected links from the show The Wilderness Cure book The Wildbiome Project Eatweeds podcast archives Napiers the herbalists Association of Foragers About Mo WildeMo is a forager, research herbalist and ethnobotanist. She lives in West Lothian in a self-built wooden house on 4 organic acres where she is encouraging medicinal and foraging species to make their home, creating a wild, teaching garden. She has a Masters degree in Herbal Medicine, and is a Fellow of the Linnean Society, a Member of the British Mycological Society and a Member of the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). She also teaches foraging and herbal medicine courses, with the aim of “Restoring Vital Connection”.

Summary: Caecilians are legless amphibians, so how do they get around? Join Kiersten as she talks about caecilian locomotion.   For my hearing impaired listeners, a complete transcript of this podcast follows the show notes on Podbean.   Show Notes: “The kinematics of locomotion in caecilians: effects of substrate and body shape” by Anthony Here et. al, J Exp Cool A Ecol Genet Physiol. 2010. Https//pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov   “A comparative study of locomotion in the caecilian Dermophis mexicanus and Typhlonectes natans (Amphibia: Gymnophiona)” by Adam P. Summers and James C. O'Reilly, Zoological  Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol 121, Issue 1, Sept 1997, pls 65-76. Https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1997.tb000147.x   Music written and performed by Katherine Camp   Transcript (Piano music plays) Kiersten - This is Ten Things I Like About…a ten minute, ten episode podcast about unknown or misunderstood wildlife. (Piano music stops) Welcome to Ten Things I Like About… I'm Kiersten, your host, and this is a podcast about misunderstood or unknown creatures in nature. Some we'll find right outside our doors and some are continents away but all are fascinating.  This podcast will focus ten, ten minute episodes on different animals and their amazing characteristics. Please join me on this extraordinary journey, you won't regret it. This episode continues caecilians and the fifth thing I like about these supercool amphibians is the way they get around.  In previous episodes, we have clearly established that caecilians do not have legs, so you may have been asking yourself, how do they get around? Excellent question. Let's get the answer. Caecilians are definitely not the only no-legged animal on planet Earth. There are snakes, glass lizards, and fish that do not have legs. Each of these examples have a unique way of locomotion. Caecilian locomotion is something that blows my mind!      In the last episode we learned that caecilians are divided into ten different families. Most of those families are terrestrial, which means, according to the Oxford Dictionary, of, on, or relating to the earth. Furthermore, many terrestrial caecilians, are fossorial which means they live underground. Nine of our ten families are considered terrestrial caecilians. So how exactly do caecilians create motion? They use hydrostatic movement. Hydrostatic motion is created when one set of muscles contracts in a circular and longitudinal pattern and another set of muscles stretches in response. Think of how a jellyfish moves. That in and out, almost like breathing, motion is how hydrostatic movement works. Many species of invertebrates use hydrostatic systems to move and several species of vertebrates use hydrostatic systems in specific body parts.  What makes caecilian hydrostatic locomotion unique is that they are the first known vertebrate to use their entire body as a hydrostatic system for locomotion. How could this get more interesting? I shall tell you! Hydrostatic movement generally depends on utilizing fluid filled portions of the body or vertebrae, but caecilians hydrostatic motion depends on a criss-cross array of tendons that surround their body cavity. Caecilians' skin and skeleton move independently of each other. Muscles do not attach the skin to the skeleton like other vertebrates. This allows them to create twice the maximum forward force of similar sized burrowing snakes that rely on longitudinal movement.  This is one more example of what makes caecilians so unique in the animal kingdom. Now that we know exactly how terrestrial caecilians create forward motion let's look at another characteristic that is influenced by their fossorial lifestyle. As you know, caecilians don't have feet, so instead their skull bones have adapted into the perfect shape to move through the soil. They're skulls are often described as wedge-shaped, compact, and robust. Sounds a lot like a shovel which would be perfect for digging through soil! Fossorial caecilians' skull bones have actually fused together in ways that other animals' skull bones are not fused. There are two types of skull structures in caecilians. The first type is zygokrotaphic in which the skull is perforated between the squamosal, or the side of the skull and the parietal, or the top of the skull. The second type of skull is stegokrotaphic which means the skull in completely roofed.  These two skull types are incredibly interesting to researchers and have inspired several scientific studies. One study investigated whether the amount of tunneling a species does determines which skull formation is found in their family. The thought was that the completely roofed skull formation would be  better suited to caecilians that burrow in soil more than other species that live mainly in leaf litter. To withstand the force needed to push through the soil a completely fused skull would be better, right?  What investigators found did not support this hypothesis. There was no evidence showing caecilians with stegokrotaphic skulls had increased burrowing activity. Skull shape may be more influenced by what they eat instead, we'll talk about this more in next week's episode. While investigating this hypothesis the researchers did discover that cranial shape varies greatly throughout caecilians. Even though there is variability in the position of the mouth, the temporal perforation of the skull, and the closure of the eye orbits, caecilian skulls are are generally bullet shaped which helps make burrowing much easier.  Scientists are always asking questions and a group of researchers studying caecilian movement wanted to know if the length of a caecilian impacted the way they moved. Using x-ray video these scientists recorded the movement of five different species of caecilian that ranged in size. What they discovered was that as the length of the caecilian increased their ability to create the internal concertina motion of hydrostatic movement decreased. As the caecilians increased in length they lost the skin and skeletal independent movement because of the increase in body length. The larger species depended more on lateral movement, even though they are still capable of concertina movement.  On an interesting note, in all species locomotion choice was dependent on substrate. When they were burrowing through soil they used a whole body or concertina motion to move forward; yet, when they were above the soil they used a lateral movement. This movement is similar to how snakes move in that side to side slithering motion. Family Typhlonectidae contains our aquatic caecilians. There are 13 species in this family and they all live their entire lives under the water. They also burrow into soil but since the substrate is underwater it's often more sandy or silty. Many species in this family have lost the concertina movement of terrestrial caecilians. Instead, they rely on a lateral motion to move through the water and soft substrate. That's it for caecilian locomotion, I hope you enjoyed this episode because it's my fifth favorite thing about this awesome animal. If you're enjoying this podcast please recommend me to friends and family and take a moment to give me a rating on whatever platform your listening. It will help me reach more listeners and give the animals I talk about an even better chance at change.    Join me next week for another thing I like about caecilians!   (Piano Music plays)  This has been an episode of Ten Things I like About with Kiersten and Company. Original music written and performed by Katherine Camp, piano extraordinaire.

Todd joins as we attempt to twist and over-exaggerate the very true falsehood of a completely fabricated forgery fish which was totally considered a genuinely authentic species…for over 5 decades! What would you do if you were served an atrocious fish of unknown origin? You'd eat it! And you'd pay for it as well! But you certainly would not try to document it in the annals of biological literature as a newly discovered species, because a century down the line a pair of weirdos may dig up your secret little blunder and make a show of it, use it to have a few laughs, promote mystical thought, but worst of all: expose that the scientific method is always susceptible to human error! ====================== Huge THANK YOU!!! to Todd Purse for radiating with so much enthusiasm and positive energy, but also for the amazing episode artwork he made! If you wish to see more art like this, follow Todd on Instagram ⁠@toddde85⁠ Check Todd's regular podcast ⁠Create Magic - Daily Weirdo Art⁠ ...and support him by visiting his website ⁠www.createmagicstudios.com⁠ ====================== Episode artwork by Todd Purse ⁠@toddde85⁠ Send us suggestions and comments to ⁠tracingowlspodcast@gmail.com⁠ Follow us on Instagram ⁠@tracingowls⁠ or Twitter ⁠@TracingOwls⁠ Check our Linktree: ⁠linktr.ee/tracingowls⁠ Outro music obtained from ⁠https://www.zapsplat.com⁠ ====================== FURTHER READING: ⁠Wikipedia: Ompax spatuloides⁠ ⁠Wikipedia: Gayndah⁠ ⁠The Fishiest Fish⁠ ⁠A Fishy Tale⁠ ⁠A Book of Creatures: Ompax⁠ ⁠Gayndah bear mystery⁠ Castelnau, F. (1879). "⁠On a new ganoïd fish from Queensland⁠". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales. 3: 164–165. Whitley, Gilbert P. (1933): ⁠Ompax spatuloides Castelnau, a mythical Australian fish⁠. ⁠Am. Nat.⁠ 67(713): 563–567. Helfman, G.; Collette, B.B.; Facey, D.E.; Bowen, B.W. (2009). ⁠The Diversity of Fishes: Biology, Evolution, and Ecology.⁠ John Wiley & Sons. p. 294. ⁠ISBN⁠ ⁠9781444311907⁠. Bolt, Roelf, and Andy Brown. 2014. The encyclopaedia of liars and deceivers. Reaktion Books. p. 77.

John van Wyhe is a historian of science at the National University of Singapore and the founder and Director of Darwin Online. He has published fifteen books and lectures and broadcasts around the world.Van Wyhe curated the restoration of Darwin's rooms at Christ's College and the Wallace exhibition at Science Centre Singapore. He has led expeditions to Indonesia to examine nature conservation and re-discovered a snake thought locally extinct for 172 years. He is a member of the British Society for the History of Science, a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London, and a University Professorial Fellow of Charles Darwin University. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this KEEN ON episode, Andrew talks to the author of OTHERLANDS, Thomas Halliday, about the deep time of paleobiology, croquet and the existential threat of climate change to our species and planet THOMAS HALLIDAY is a palaeontologist and evolutionary biologist. He holds a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship at the University of Birmingham, and is a Scientific Associate of the Natural History Museum. His research combines theoretical and real data to investigate long-term patterns in the fossil record, particularly in mammals. Thomas was the winner of the Linnean Society's John C. Marsden Medal in 2016 and the Hugh Miller Writing Competition in 2018. He is the author of OTHERLANDS which was short listed for the 2022 Baillie Gifford prize for non-fiction Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tail regrowth is a weird and wonderful trait some herpetofauna possess. But there's a new paper about the regrowing tails of alligators. Species of the Bi-week is more like Genus of the Bi-week. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Xu C, Palade J, Fisher RE, Smith CI, Clark AR, Sampson S, Bourgeois R, Rawls A, Elsey RM, Wilson-Rawls J, Kusumi K. 2020. Anatomical and histological analyses reveal that tail repair is coupled with regrowth in wild-caught, juvenile American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis). Scientific Reports 10:20122. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77052-8. Species of the Bi-Week: Blair C, Bryson RW, García-Vázquez UO, Nieto-Montes De Oca A, Lazcano D, Mccormack JE, Klicka J. 2022. Phylogenomics of alligator lizards elucidate diversification patterns across the Mexican Transition Zone and support the recognition of a new genus. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 135:25–39. DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab139. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Seifert, A.W., Kiama, S.G., Seifert, M.G., Goheen, J.R., Palmer, T.M. and Maden, M., 2012. Skin shedding and tissue regeneration in African spiny mice (Acomys). Nature, 489(7417), pp.561-565. Editing and Music: Podcast edited by Emmy – https://www.fiverr.com/emmyk10  Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Mountain dragons are found in Australia and Tasmania. We get stuck in to the ecology of these busy little lizards. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Stuart-Smith JF, Stuart-Smith RD, Swain R, Wapstra E. 2008. Size dimorphism in Rankinia [Tympanocryptis] diemensis (Family Agamidae): sex-specific patterns and geographic variation: size dimorphism in R. diemensis. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 94:699–709. DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2008.01026.x. Stuart-Smith J, Swain R, Welling A. 2005. Reproductive ecology of the Mountain Dragon, Rankinia (Tympanocryptis) diemensis (Reptilia: Squamata: Agamidae) in Tasmania. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania:23–28. DOI: 10.26749/rstpp.139.23. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Stuart‐Smith, J., Swain, R., Stuart‐Smith, R. D., & Wapstra, E. (2007). Is fecundity the ultimate cause of female‐biased size dimorphism in a dragon lizard?. Journal of Zoology, 273(3), 266-272. Tombak, K. J., Gersick, A. S., Reisinger, L. V., Larison, B., & Rubenstein, D. I. (2022). Zebras of all stripes repel biting flies at close range. Scientific reports, 12(1), 1-8. Other Links/Mentions: Leptopelis viridis call from https://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?special=call&genus=Leptopelis&species=viridis   https://www.nhbs.com/mountain-dragons-book  Rödel, M. O. (2000). Herpetofauna of West Africa, Vol. I. Amphibians of the West African Savanna. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt, Germany. Radwin M. 2022.Rare, critically endangered gecko making dramatic recovery in Caribbean. Available at https://news.mongabay.com/2022/12/rare-critically-endangered-gecko-making-dramatic-recovery-in-caribbean/ (accessed December 8, 2022). Editing and Music: Podcast edited by Emmy – https://www.fiverr.com/emmyk10  Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

In this episode, Xavier Bonilla has a dialogue with Lars Chittka about the cognitive abilities of bees. They discuss the individuality and evolutionary history of bees. They talk about the various aspects of vision in bees such as polarization, sun compass, and phylogenetic analysis. They discuss the antennae of bees and how they use this sense. They talk about the sociality of bees, the brains of bees, intelligence, and their personality. They also discuss robot bees, bee conservation, and many more topics. Lars Chittka is a zoologist and ecologist who is the founder of the research centre for psychology at Queen Mary, University of London. He is an editor of PLoS Biology, fellow of the Linnean Society, the Royal Entomological Society, and Royal Society of Biology. He is a well-established researcher on sensory physiology and cognition of bees. He is the author of The Mind of A Bee. You can find his work here. Twitter: @lchittka This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit convergingdialogues.substack.com

Elapid behaviour is not as well studied as we'd like, so in this episode we look at a couple of papers to cover more ground. One describing the changing morphology to optimise caudal luring, and another that looks at just how much you can bother a brownsnake before the worst happens. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Crowe-Riddell JM, Dix S, Pieterman L, Nankivell JH, Ford M, Ludington AJ, Simões BF, Dunstan N, Partridge JC, Sanders KL, Allen L. 2021. From matte banded to glossy black: structures underlying colour change in the caudal lures of southern death adders (Acanthophis antarcticus, Reptilia: Elapidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 132:666–675. DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa218. Whitaker PB, Ellis K, Shine R. 2000. The defensive strike of the Eastern Brownsnake, Pseudonaja textilis (Elapidae): Defensive strike of Eastern Brownsnake. Functional Ecology 14:25–31. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2435.2000.00385.x. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: 28 (not 38) new species of gecko in New Caledonia: https://www.dropbox.com/s/69y399u22ujxusb/Bavayia_PCAS_Nov_2022.pdf?dl=0  Editing and Music: Podcast edited by Emmy – https://www.fiverr.com/emmyk10  Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events 1771 On this day, heavy rains caused the ancient raised peat bog known as the Solway Moss to burst over its earthen banks and flowed down into a valley covering four hundred acres of farmland. The next day, Solway Moss covered the surrounding land with 15 feet of thick feculent mud. Solway Moss was a one-by-two-mile-long moss land growing since the end of the last Ice Age. The raised bog was an estimated 50 feet higher than the surrounding farmland. The living surface of the Solway Moss was a unique mix of bog cotton, sphagnum, and heather. The porous soupy surface hosted a few shrubs and standing pools of water. But the rotting vegetation created a dangerous predicament that no man or cattle would dare traverse throughout the year. Over two hundred years before the Solway Moss burst, the English and the Scots fought over the land surrounding the bog in the Battle of Solway Moss. After the English victory, hundreds of Scots drowned in the bog as they tried to return home by crossing the moss hillside. Like a sponge, peat expands to absorb moisture when it gets wet. And, during wet months like November of 1771, the peat swells; in this case, the peat swelled until it bursts. The incredible event was recorded in a journal: A farmer who lived nearest the moss was alarmed with an unusual noise. The crust had at once given way, and the black deluge was rolling toward his house. He gave notice to his neighbors with all expedition; others received no other advice but... by its noise, many by its entrance into their houses.... some were surprised with it even in their beds. [while some] remaining totally ignorant…until the morning when their neighbors with difficulty got them out through the roof. The eruption burst… like a cataract of thick ink... intermixed with great fragments of peat... filling the whole valley... leaving... tremendous heaps of turf.   1785 Birth of Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American Lutheran Pastor and botanist. He was always referred to by his second name Heinrich. The Muhlenberg family was a founding family of the United States, and Heinrich came from a long line of pastors. His father, Pastor Heinrich Melchior Mühlenberg, was known as the patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America. His brother was a major in the Revolutionary War, and his other brother was a Congressman. Muhlenberg's journals are a treasure trove of his thoughts on botanical self-improvement. He would write: How may I best advance myself in the knowledge of plants?   And Muhlenberg would set goals and reminders to challenge himself, writing: It is winter, and there is little to do . . . Toward spring I should go out and [put together] a chronology of the trees; how they come out, the flowers, how they appear,. . . . I should especially [take not of] the flowers and fruit. The grass Muhlenbergia was named for Heinrich Muhlenberg. Muhly grasses are beautiful native grasses with two critical strengths in their plant profile: drought tolerance and visual punch. In addition, Muhly grasses are easy-going, growing equally well in harsh conditions and perfectly manicured gardens. The Muhly cultivar 'White Cloud' offers gorgeous white plumes. When the coveted Pink Muhly blooms, people often stop and ask the name of the beautiful pink grass. Lindheimer's Muhly makes a fantastic screen, and Bamboo Muhly commands attention when it is featured in containers. All Muhly grasses like well-drained soil and full sun. If you plant them in the fall, be sure to get them situated and in the ground at least a month before the first frost. And here's an interesting side note: Muhlenberg also discovered the bog turtle. In 1801, the turtle was named Clemmys muhlenbergii in his honor.   1818 Death of England's Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III. Charlotte is remembered as the patroness of the arts, an amateur botanist, and a champion of Kew Gardens. In addition to the astounding fact that Charlotte gave birth to 15 children, she was a fascinating royal. Born in Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany, Charlotte was the first person in England to bring a Christmas tree indoors to celebrate the holiday season. Charlotte had gotten the idea from her home country of Germany. In December 1800, Charlotte selected a yew which was brought inside Windsor Castle and festively decorated. Charlotte and her husband, King George, both loved botany. After his mother died, George gained control of Kew and Charlotte set about expanding Kew Gardens. On the property, Charlotte had a little cottage installed along with a rustic cottage garden. Her daughter Elizabeth likely painted the attic room ceiling with nasturtium and morning glory. Charlotte was quite serious in her pursuit of botany. She collected plants and had a personal herbarium to help with her studies. The President of the Linnean Society, Sir James Edward Smith, personally tutored Charlotte in botany, along with her four daughters. And. George and Charlotte both became close friends with the botanical tissue paper artist Mary Delaney. At the end of Mary's life, George and Charlotte gave her a house at Windsor along with a pension. When plant hunters in South Africa discovered the Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae) flower, it was sent to England and named for Charlotte's birthplace, Strelitz. The botanical name for the Bird of Paradise is Strelitzia reginae, "stray-LIT-zee-ah REJ-in-ee." The early part of Charlotte's reign occurred before the American Revolution, which is why so many American locations were named in Charlotte's honor. Eleven cities are named Charlotte, the most famous being Charlotte, North Carolina. It's no wonder that Charlotte, NC, has the nickname The Queen's City," and there's a 25-foot tall bronze statue of Charlotte outside the Charlotte airport. Mecklenburg County in North Carolina and Virginia are both named in honor of Charlotte's home in Germany. Charlotte died at 74 in the smallest English royal palace, Kew Palace, at Kew Gardens. She reigned for 57 years. Today, gardeners love the Japanese Anemone Queen Charlotte. It's the perfect plant for adding late color to the garden with light pink petals and golden-yellow centers.   1889 Birth of Ethel Zoe Bailey, American botanist. Ethel graduated from Smith College in 1911 after majoring in zoology. Ethel was the daughter of the American horticulturist Liberty Hyde Bailey. Her father instilled in her a love for botany, adventure, and archiving. Liberty brought Ethel along on his travels to Latin America and Asia in his quest for new plant discoveries. One of her obituaries shared a story from one of their more daring trips: One of the pair's most daring expeditions was to the wild jungle island of Barro Colorado in the Panama Canal Zone. Disregarding warnings about disease and boa constrictors, Miss Bailey her father, then 73, and a few other botanists trekked through hip-deep water of the Mohinja Swamp in search of a rare palm. They found it growing in the swamp, as Bailey had predicted, and photographed it in the pouring rain with the camera tripod almost submerged in water. In turn, Ethel became the curator of the Bailey herbarium above the Mann Library at Cornell University - a position she held for over two decades until 1957. For Ethel, maintaining the collection was her personal mission. She was essentially the steward of her father's work after he donated his private plant collection to Cornell University. For Ethel, Cornell was home. In fact, she was one of the few people to have the honor of being born on the Cornell campus on the spot where Phillips Hall now stands.   One biography of Ethel noted that  She continued to volunteer on a daily basis at the Hortorium, until her death in 1983. Still driving herself to and from work, Miss Bailey had reached the auspicious age of 93. Driving had always been an important part of Miss Bailey's life. She was the first woman in Ithaca to receive a chauffeur's (driver's) license. Ethel's remarkable ability to organize and catalog large amounts of information led to an impressive notecard filing system of every single plant that had been listed in most of the published plant catalogs during Ethel's lifetime. This massive indexing project on simple 3" x 5" cards helped Ethel's father with his research and became an invaluable resource to other researchers and plant experts worldwide. The catalog was later named the Ethel Z. Bailey Horticultural Catalogue in her honor. Ethel received much well-deserved recognition for her work during her lifetime, including the George Robert White Medal in 1967 from the Massachusetts Historical Society and the Smith College Medal in 1970.   1916 Birth of Shelby Foote, American writer, historian, and journalist.  He is remembered for his massive, three-volume, 3,000-page history of the Civil War - a project he completed in 1974. Shelby lived in Memphis and loved to spend days in his pajamas. He did most of his writing in his home study with a view of his small and tidy garden. Shelby was old-fashioned. He took to writing with hand-dipped pens, which slowed the pace of his writing - a practice he felt made him a better writer. One of his favorite books was The Black Flower by Howard Bahr, an acclaimed historical fiction book set during the Civil War.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Rosa by Peter Kukielski ("Kooh-KEL-ski") This book came out in 2021, and the subtitle is The Story of the Rose. Peter is a world-renowned rosarian or rose expert. He has written many popular books on roses, including Roses Without Chemicals. He spent twelve years as the curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden. During that time, he oversaw a $2.5 million redesign of a massive rose collection in a garden designed by Beatrix Farrand. He helped lead the launch of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Ontario. He also promotes disease-resistant roses as a leader on the National EarthKind team. A review in Maine Gardener by Tom Atwell raved that this book is a beauty with lavish illustrations and the long, fascinating history of the rose. In chapter one, Kukielski lists all the plants other than roses in the Rosacea family (surprising ones include mountain ash, apples, raspberries and strawberries.) He also shows, with pictures (the book has 256 color illustrations in total), the many different classes of roses. Modern roses, defined as those introduced since 1867, get their own section.   Tom Atwell's review also revealed the origin story of this book. Three or four times, editors and publishers at Yale University Press asked Portland resident and rose expert Peter E Kukielski to please write a history of the rose. Kukielski kept saying no. The last time they asked, he responded, "Perhaps you should ask why I am saying no." When they did, he told them he'd had read many rose histories, and they all said the same thing. The world didn't need another one, he said. What Kukielsk wanted to do was tell stories about roses. Yes, include some history, but also encompasses the rose's role in religion, literature, art, music and movies. He wanted to offer true plant geeks a bit about the rose's botany, too. In the end, that's the book he was able to write.   In Rosa, Peter takes us on a chronological journey through the history of the rose, including a close look at the fascinating topic of the rose water or rose oil industry. These rose-based products were an essential part of life in the middle east and Asia, with entire population centers springing up around the craft. In a 2007 article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Peter shared that, the only way to know a rose is to grow roses. [Peter] grew up watching his grandmother tend her rose garden in Stone Mountain, Ga. Little did she know that she was planting the seed for her grandson's future career.   And in a 2008 article featured in the Red Deer Advocate, Peter shared great insights into why roses reign supreme in the fall. It turns out, as many gardeners will attest, roses often save their best blooms for fall. All year long, roses store energy, which is ultimately released at the end of their season, resulting in gorgeous showy blossoms in autumn. Peter advised, "In my opinion, late September into October is a very close second to June as far as beauty. The days are nicer, the nights are cooler and the sunlight is better, coating everything with a golden glow." Summer is hard on roses, which require a lot of energy to flower.  "It's hot, humid and exhausting. Roses have their fabulous spring, shut down a bit in summer and then display another burst of glorious colour in the fall when they're less stressed."   And in a 2021 interview with Margaret Roach, Peter shared his tip regarding what rose to plant.  Talk to the local rose society, Kukielski suggests, and neighbours who garden: "If the person down the street is growing Queen Elizabeth and it looks great, take that as a cue.   And that passion and pragmatism made Peter Kukielski the perfect author for this book on roses. This book is 256 of the story of the rose, the Queen of flowers, and her long reign through human history. You can get a copy of Rosa by Peter Kukielski and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $7.   Botanic Spark 1861 Birth of Archibald Lampman, Canadian poet, and naturalist. Archibald loved camping and the countryside. The natural world inspired his verse, and he became known as "The Canadian Keats." As a result of contracting rheumatic fever in his childhood, Archibald's life was cut short, and he died at 37. Archibald's poem Knowledge compares our quest for wisdom to a garden. What is more large than knowledge and more sweet; Knowledge of thoughts and deeds, of rights and wrongs, Of passions and of beauties and of songs; Knowledge of life; to feel its great heart beat Through all the soul upon her crystal seat; To see, to feel, and evermore to know; To till the old world's wisdom till it grow A garden for the wandering of our feet. Oh for a life of leisure and broad hours, To think and dream, to put away small things, This world's perpetual leaguer of dull naughts; To wander like the bee among the flowers Till old age find us weary, feet and wings Grown heavy with the gold of many thoughts.   Archibald is buried at Beechwood Cemetery in Ottawa, and a plaque near his grave is inscribed with his poem "In November," which ends with these words: The hills grow wintery white, and bleak winds moan About the naked uplands. I alone Am neither sad, nor shelterless, nor grey, Wrapped round with thought, content to watch and dream.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, where he founded a new Research Centre for Psychology in 2008 and was its scientific director until 2012. He is the author of The Mind of a Bee and is the coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination. He studied Biology in Berlin and completed his PhD studies under the supervision of Randolf Menzel in 1993. He has carried out extensive work on the behaviour, cognition and ecology of bumble bees and honey bees, and their interactions with flowers. His discoveries have made a substantial impact on the understanding of animal intelligence and its neural-computational underpinnings. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and has been an editor of biology's foremost open access journal PLoS Biology since 2004. He is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Entomological Society, as well as the Royal Society of Biology."Most bees are quite short-lived, not all bees. So queen bees can live for many years, up to seven years, and some stingless bees, the queens can even live much longer than that, but their lives are less exciting in a sense that they are, most of their lives, cave animals, where most of what they do is egg laying.So when we're talking about intelligence tests and bees, these are mostly done with the worker bees, and they only live for a few weeks. And it might be surprising to many people that an animal this short-lived can learn anything at all because, of course, in humans, the process of acquiring crucial life skills takes much longer, many years typically. So when a bee first emerges from the pupa - bees spend their first few days as little grubs inside a wax pot. And this larval stage, of course, there isn't much learning going on. They have a very pampered and easy life in that they are basically immersed in the food that they're required to grow. And then they pupate and turn from what are formerly little helpless grubs into adult bees.Once the bee emerges from the pupa, they have a number of different tasks waiting for them, which in honey bees a fairly defined sequence where the bee might in her first few days simply be involved in the many duties inside the hive – to clean cells, to build wax comb, to feed the larva – and then to transition to their life as a forager.”http://chittkalab.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/Lars.htmlhttps://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-beehttps://journals.plos.org/plosbiologywww.oneplanetpodcast.orgwww.creativeprocess.infoPhoto credit: Markus Scholz / Leopoldina

"Most bees are quite short-lived, not all bees. So queen bees can live for many years, up to seven years, and some stingless bees, the queens can even live much longer than that, but their lives are less exciting in a sense that they are, most of their lives, cave animals, where most of what they do is egg laying.So when we're talking about intelligence tests and bees, these are mostly done with the worker bees, and they only live for a few weeks. And it might be surprising to many people that an animal this short-lived can learn anything at all because, of course, in humans, the process of acquiring crucial life skills takes much longer, many years typically. So when a bee first emerges from the pupa - bees spend their first few days as little grubs inside a wax pot. And this larval stage, of course, there isn't much learning going on. They have a very pampered and easy life in that they are basically immersed in the food that they're required to grow. And then they pupate and turn from what are formerly little helpless grubs into adult bees.Once the bee emerges from the pupa, they have a number of different tasks waiting for them, which in honey bees a fairly defined sequence where the bee might in her first few days simply be involved in the many duties inside the hive – to clean cells, to build wax comb, to feed the larva – and then to transition to their life as a forager.”Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, where he founded a new Research Centre for Psychology in 2008 and was its scientific director until 2012. He is the author of The Mind of a Bee and is the coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination. He studied Biology in Berlin and completed his PhD studies under the supervision of Randolf Menzel in 1993. He has carried out extensive work on the behaviour, cognition and ecology of bumble bees and honey bees, and their interactions with flowers. His discoveries have made a substantial impact on the understanding of animal intelligence and its neural-computational underpinnings. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and has been an editor of biology's foremost open access journal PLoS Biology since 2004. He is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Entomological Society, as well as the Royal Society of Biology.http://chittkalab.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/Lars.htmlhttps://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-beehttps://journals.plos.org/plosbiologywww.oneplanetpodcast.orgwww.creativeprocess.info

"The world of bees is under threat, and that is not because bees are singled out, but because bees live in the environment that we all share and they are a kind of a canary in the coal mine for what's going on more largely in destroying our environment. And in a sense they are, I think, a useful sort of mascot and icon to highlight these troubles, but they are only a signpost of other things that are also under threat. We need the bee for our own food because they pollinate our crops, and they pollinate the flowers that we enjoy, but I think their utility for us is not the only reason to support them and their environment. I think the growing appreciation that the world that surrounds us is full of sophisticated and unique minds places on us a kind of onus and obligation to preserve the diversity of these minds that are out there and make sure that they continue to thrive."Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, where he founded a new Research Centre for Psychology in 2008 and was its scientific director until 2012. He is the author of The Mind of a Bee and is the coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination. He studied Biology in Berlin and completed his PhD studies under the supervision of Randolf Menzel in 1993. He has carried out extensive work on the behaviour, cognition and ecology of bumble bees and honey bees, and their interactions with flowers. His discoveries have made a substantial impact on the understanding of animal intelligence and its neural-computational underpinnings. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and has been an editor of biology's foremost open access journal PLoS Biology since 2004. He is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Entomological Society, as well as the Royal Society of Biology.http://chittkalab.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/Lars.htmlhttps://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-beehttps://journals.plos.org/plosbiologywww.oneplanetpodcast.orgwww.creativeprocess.infoPhoto credit: Markus Scholz / Leopoldina

Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, where he founded a new Research Centre for Psychology in 2008 and was its scientific director until 2012. He is the author of The Mind of a Bee and is the coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination. He studied Biology in Berlin and completed his PhD studies under the supervision of Randolf Menzel in 1993. He has carried out extensive work on the behaviour, cognition and ecology of bumble bees and honey bees, and their interactions with flowers. His discoveries have made a substantial impact on the understanding of animal intelligence and its neural-computational underpinnings. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and has been an editor of biology's foremost open access journal PLoS Biology since 2004. He is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Entomological Society, as well as the Royal Society of Biology."The world of bees is under threat, and that is not because bees are singled out, but because bees live in the environment that we all share and they are a kind of a canary in the coal mine for what's going on more largely in destroying our environment. And in a sense they are, I think, a useful sort of mascot and icon to highlight these troubles, but they are only a signpost of other things that are also under threat. We need the bee for our own food because they pollinate our crops, and they pollinate the flowers that we enjoy, but I think their utility for us is not the only reason to support them and their environment. I think the growing appreciation that the world that surrounds us is full of sophisticated and unique minds places on us a kind of onus and obligation to preserve the diversity of these minds that are out there and make sure that they continue to thrive."http://chittkalab.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/Lars.htmlhttps://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-beehttps://journals.plos.org/plosbiologywww.oneplanetpodcast.orgwww.creativeprocess.infoPhoto credit: Markus Scholz / Leopoldina

Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, where he founded a new Research Centre for Psychology in 2008 and was its scientific director until 2012. He is the author of The Mind of a Bee and is the coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination. He studied Biology in Berlin and completed his PhD studies under the supervision of Randolf Menzel in 1993. He has carried out extensive work on the behaviour, cognition and ecology of bumble bees and honey bees, and their interactions with flowers. His discoveries have made a substantial impact on the understanding of animal intelligence and its neural-computational underpinnings. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and has been an editor of biology's foremost open access journal PLoS Biology since 2004. He is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Entomological Society, as well as the Royal Society of Biology."Most bees are quite short-lived, not all bees. So queen bees can live for many years, up to seven years, and some stingless bees, the queens can even live much longer than that, but their lives are less exciting in a sense that they are, most of their lives, cave animals, where most of what they do is egg laying.So when we're talking about intelligence tests and bees, these are mostly done with the worker bees, and they only live for a few weeks. And it might be surprising to many people that an animal this short-lived can learn anything at all because, of course, in humans, the process of acquiring crucial life skills takes much longer, many years typically. So when a bee first emerges from the pupa - bees spend their first few days as little grubs inside a wax pot. And this larval stage, of course, there isn't much learning going on. They have a very pampered and easy life in that they are basically immersed in the food that they're required to grow. And then they pupate and turn from what are formerly little helpless grubs into adult bees.Once the bee emerges from the pupa, they have a number of different tasks waiting for them, which in honey bees a fairly defined sequence where the bee might in her first few days simply be involved in the many duties inside the hive – to clean cells, to build wax comb, to feed the larva – and then to transition to their life as a forager.”http://chittkalab.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/Lars.htmlhttps://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-beehttps://journals.plos.org/plosbiologywww.oneplanetpodcast.orgwww.creativeprocess.infoPhoto credit: Markus Scholz / Leopoldina

"Most bees are quite short-lived, not all bees. So queen bees can live for many years, up to seven years, and some stingless bees, the queens can even live much longer than that, but their lives are less exciting in a sense that they are, most of their lives, cave animals, where most of what they do is egg laying.So when we're talking about intelligence tests and bees, these are mostly done with the worker bees, and they only live for a few weeks. And it might be surprising to many people that an animal this short-lived can learn anything at all because, of course, in humans, the process of acquiring crucial life skills takes much longer, many years typically. So when a bee first emerges from the pupa - bees spend their first few days as little grubs inside a wax pot. And this larval stage, of course, there isn't much learning going on. They have a very pampered and easy life in that they are basically immersed in the food that they're required to grow. And then they pupate and turn from what are formerly little helpless grubs into adult bees.Once the bee emerges from the pupa, they have a number of different tasks waiting for them, which in honey bees a fairly defined sequence where the bee might in her first few days simply be involved in the many duties inside the hive – to clean cells, to build wax comb, to feed the larva – and then to transition to their life as a forager.”Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, where he founded a new Research Centre for Psychology in 2008 and was its scientific director until 2012. He is the author of The Mind of a Bee and is the coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination. He studied Biology in Berlin and completed his PhD studies under the supervision of Randolf Menzel in 1993. He has carried out extensive work on the behaviour, cognition and ecology of bumble bees and honey bees, and their interactions with flowers. His discoveries have made a substantial impact on the understanding of animal intelligence and its neural-computational underpinnings. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and has been an editor of biology's foremost open access journal PLoS Biology since 2004. He is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Entomological Society, as well as the Royal Society of Biology.http://chittkalab.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/Lars.htmlhttps://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-beehttps://journals.plos.org/plosbiologywww.oneplanetpodcast.orgwww.creativeprocess.info

"Many of us are now aware that bees are in trouble due to manmade changes to the environment. Large-scale industrial agriculture, of course, means that often there are no floral resources over very large areas of farmland, and bees' flexibility in locating food sources of course can cope with that to some extent because they're very good at locating patches, but this ability only goes so far. Of course, if there are literally no flowers left or very few, then their learning ability won't help them very much.In addition, of course, there is very heavy usage of pesticides and herbicides in industrial agriculture. And these substances in many cases have been designed to be lethal or at least harmful to insects because they are meant to keep herbivores at bay. And of course often, even if insects don't eat the leaves, flower-visiting insects still get exposed to them in the contents of floral nectar or pollen. So they carry these poisons back to their hives, their nests, albeit perhaps in lower concentrations that they're available in the leaves, but they're still present at a level that's harmful to bees so that affects their navigation, that affects the health of their young. So these manmade changes have a huge impact on bees and this is typically measured in those bees that are least affected - that is honeybees.”Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, where he founded a new Research Centre for Psychology in 2008 and was its scientific director until 2012. He is the author of The Mind of a Bee and is the coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination. He studied Biology in Berlin and completed his PhD studies under the supervision of Randolf Menzel in 1993. He has carried out extensive work on the behaviour, cognition and ecology of bumble bees and honey bees, and their interactions with flowers. His discoveries have made a substantial impact on the understanding of animal intelligence and its neural-computational underpinnings. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and has been an editor of biology's foremost open access journal PLoS Biology since 2004. He is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Entomological Society, as well as the Royal Society of Biology.http://chittkalab.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/Lars.htmlhttps://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-beehttps://journals.plos.org/plosbiologywww.oneplanetpodcast.orgwww.creativeprocess.infoPhoto credit: Markus Scholz / Leopoldina

Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, where he founded a new Research Centre for Psychology in 2008 and was its scientific director until 2012. He is the author of The Mind of a Bee and is the coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination. He studied Biology in Berlin and completed his PhD studies under the supervision of Randolf Menzel in 1993. He has carried out extensive work on the behaviour, cognition and ecology of bumble bees and honey bees, and their interactions with flowers. His discoveries have made a substantial impact on the understanding of animal intelligence and its neural-computational underpinnings. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and has been an editor of biology's foremost open access journal PLoS Biology since 2004. He is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Entomological Society, as well as the Royal Society of Biology."Many of us are now aware that bees are in trouble due to manmade changes to the environment. Large-scale industrial agriculture, of course, means that often there are no floral resources over very large areas of farmland, and bees' flexibility in locating food sources of course can cope with that to some extent because they're very good at locating patches, but this ability only goes so far. Of course, if there are literally no flowers left or very few, then their learning ability won't help them very much.In addition, of course, there is very heavy usage of pesticides and herbicides in industrial agriculture. And these substances in many cases have been designed to be lethal or at least harmful to insects because they are meant to keep herbivores at bay. And of course often, even if insects don't eat the leaves, flower-visiting insects still get exposed to them in the contents of floral nectar or pollen. So they carry these poisons back to their hives, their nests, albeit perhaps in lower concentrations that they're available in the leaves, but they're still present at a level that's harmful to bees so that affects their navigation, that affects the health of their young. So these manmade changes have a huge impact on bees and this is typically measured in those bees that are least affected - that is honeybees.”http://chittkalab.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/Lars.htmlhttps://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-beehttps://journals.plos.org/plosbiologywww.oneplanetpodcast.orgwww.creativeprocess.infoPhoto credit: Markus Scholz / Leopoldina

"Most bees are quite short-lived, not all bees. So queen bees can live for many years, up to seven years, and some stingless bees, the queens can even live much longer than that, but their lives are less exciting in a sense that they are, most of their lives, cave animals, where most of what they do is egg laying.So when we're talking about intelligence tests and bees, these are mostly done with the worker bees, and they only live for a few weeks. And it might be surprising to many people that an animal this short-lived can learn anything at all because, of course, in humans, the process of acquiring crucial life skills takes much longer, many years typically. So when a bee first emerges from the pupa - bees spend their first few days as little grubs inside a wax pot. And this larval stage, of course, there isn't much learning going on. They have a very pampered and easy life in that they are basically immersed in the food that they're required to grow. And then they pupate and turn from what are formerly little helpless grubs into adult bees.Once the bee emerges from the pupa, they have a number of different tasks waiting for them, which in honey bees a fairly defined sequence where the bee might in her first few days simply be involved in the many duties inside the hive – to clean cells, to build wax comb, to feed the larva – and then to transition to their life as a forager.”Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, where he founded a new Research Centre for Psychology in 2008 and was its scientific director until 2012. He is the author of The Mind of a Bee and is the coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination. He studied Biology in Berlin and completed his PhD studies under the supervision of Randolf Menzel in 1993. He has carried out extensive work on the behaviour, cognition and ecology of bumble bees and honey bees, and their interactions with flowers. His discoveries have made a substantial impact on the understanding of animal intelligence and its neural-computational underpinnings. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and has been an editor of biology's foremost open access journal PLoS Biology since 2004. He is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Entomological Society, as well as the Royal Society of Biology.http://chittkalab.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/Lars.htmlhttps://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-beehttps://journals.plos.org/plosbiologywww.oneplanetpodcast.orgwww.creativeprocess.info

"If you really want to discover things and feel that excitement of finding new things that no one's found out before, the only way I think to do that is to go into a field that inspires you and to be - rather than being motivated by funding success and so on - is to be motivated by the kinds of things that you study and that you might find out.”Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, where he founded a new Research Centre for Psychology in 2008 and was its scientific director until 2012. He is the author of The Mind of a Bee and is the coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination. He studied Biology in Berlin and completed his PhD studies under the supervision of Randolf Menzel in 1993. He has carried out extensive work on the behaviour, cognition and ecology of bumble bees and honey bees, and their interactions with flowers. His discoveries have made a substantial impact on the understanding of animal intelligence and its neural-computational underpinnings. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and has been an editor of biology's foremost open access journal PLoS Biology since 2004. He is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Entomological Society, as well as the Royal Society of Biology.http://chittkalab.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/Lars.htmlhttps://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-beehttps://journals.plos.org/plosbiologywww.oneplanetpodcast.orgwww.creativeprocess.info

Lars Chittka is professor of sensory and behavioral ecology at Queen Mary University of London, where he founded a new Research Centre for Psychology in 2008 and was its scientific director until 2012. He is the author of The Mind of a Bee and is the coeditor of Cognitive Ecology of Pollination. He studied Biology in Berlin and completed his PhD studies under the supervision of Randolf Menzel in 1993. He has carried out extensive work on the behaviour, cognition and ecology of bumble bees and honey bees, and their interactions with flowers. His discoveries have made a substantial impact on the understanding of animal intelligence and its neural-computational underpinnings. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, and has been an editor of biology's foremost open access journal PLoS Biology since 2004. He is an elected Member of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina), a Fellow of the Linnean Society and Royal Entomological Society, as well as the Royal Society of Biology."If you really want to discover things and feel that excitement of finding new things that no one's found out before, the only way I think to do that is to go into a field that inspires you and to be - rather than being motivated by funding success and so on - is to be motivated by the kinds of things that you study and that you might find out.”http://chittkalab.sbcs.qmul.ac.uk/Lars.htmlhttps://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691180472/the-mind-of-a-beehttps://journals.plos.org/plosbiologywww.oneplanetpodcast.orgwww.creativeprocess.infoPhoto credit: Markus Scholz / Leopoldina

"the room where the deed was done"

Lizards can live in some tough environments, but does any lizard top the chubby Phymaturus living on the side of an active volcano? This episode we explore how they are coping with repeated ashfall events, as well as highlighting a newly described Phymaturus species. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Boretto JM, Cabezas-Cartes F, Kubisch EL, Sinervo B, Ibargüengoytía NR. 2014. Changes In Female Reproduction And Body Condition In An Endemic Lizard, Phymaturus spectabilis, Following The Puyehue Volcanic Ashfall Event. Herpetological Conservation and Biology:11. Species of the Bi-Week: Lobo F, Barrasso DA, Hibbard T, Quipildor M, Slodki D, Valdecantos S, Basso NG. 2021. Morphological and Genetic Divergence within the Phymaturus payuniae Clade (Iguania: Liolaemidae), with the Description of Two New Species. South American Journal of Herpetology 20:41. Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Becker, L. A., Boretto, J. M., Cabezas-Cartes, F., Márquez, S., Kubisch, E., Scolaro, J. A., ... & Ibargüengoytía, N. R. (2019). An integrative approach to elucidate the taxonomic status of five species of Phymaturus Gravenhorst, 1837 (Squamata: Liolaemidae) from northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 185(1), 268-282. Cabezas-Cartes F, Kubisch EL, Ibargüengoytía NR. 2014. Consequences of volcanic ash deposition on the locomotor performance of the Phymaturus spectabilis lizard from Patagonia, Argentina: Effect Of Volcanic Ash In Locomotion Of Lizards. Journal of Experimental Zoology Part A: Ecological Genetics and Physiology 321:164–172. DOI: 10.1002/jez.1846. Other Links/Mentions: Frog call of Boana faber from Rodrigo Dela Rosa – https://amphibiaweb.org/cgi/amphib_query?special=call&genus=Boana&species=faber Editing and Music: Podcast edited by Emmy – https://www.fiverr.com/emmyk10  Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, https://www.thepassionhifi.com

Some vipers have crazy horns - we chat about it, and discuss a brand new species of lizard from South America. Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights Full reference list available here: http://www.herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Busschau, T., & Boissinot, S. (2022). Habitat determines convergent evolution of cephalic horns in vipers. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 135(4), 652–664. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blac008 Species of the Bi-Week: Amézquita, A., Daza, J. M., Contreras, L. A. B., Orejuela, C., Barrientos, L. S., & Mazariegos H., L. A. (2022). One more and one less: a new species of large bromelicolous lizard (Gymnophthalmidae: Anadia) from the Andean cloud forests of northwestern Colombia and the phylogenetic status of Anadia antioquensis. Zootaxa, 5150(2), 217–238. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5150.2.3 Other Mentioned Papers/Studies: Petrovan, S. O., Al-Fulaij, N., Christie, A., & Andrews, H. (2022). Why link diverse citizen science surveys? Widespread arboreal habits of a terrestrial amphibian revealed by mammalian tree surveys in Britain. PloS one, 17(7), e0265156. Editing and Music: Podcast edited by Emmy – https://www.fiverr.com/emmyk10  Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Michael Timothy Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events 1772 Birth of Friedrich von Hardenberg (pen name Novalis ("NO-vol-liss")), the German romantic poet-philosopher. Friedrich's pen name, Novalis, was a nod to his 12th-century farming ancestors who called themselves the Novali, which translates to "people who cultivate new land," - and his first work under his pen name was Blüthenstaub (Pollen). In the book, Novalis advised his artistic friends to be prolific in their work, writing, Friends, the soil is poor, we must scatter seed abundantly for even a moderate harvest.   Novalis is most remembered for his unfinished work Henry von Ofterdingen: A Romance. This work resulted in a nickname for Novalis as the poet of the blue flower. Henry von Ofterdingen was a fabled poet from the 13th century. In Novalis's story, his romantic yearning is symbolized by his love for a blue flower, which Novalis later revealed was inspired by a heliotrope. For centuries, Novalis has been seen primarily as a love-struck poet who mourned the death of his first love, Sophie, only to be reunited with her in heaven after he, too, succumbed to the white plague or tuberculosis.  Today, blue flowers remain a symbol of desire and a striving for the unreachable. They also represent humanity's connection with nature - a rare and fragile relationship. Today, blue flowers remain among gardeners' most coveted color of blossoms - as in the Himalayan blue poppy, the delphinium, the cornflower, and the forget-me-not. In Henry von Offerdingen, Novalis wrote, I care not for wealth and riches. But that blue flower I do long to see; it haunts me and I can think and dream of nothing else...   1853 Frederick Arther Walton, English nurseryman, cactus collector, and jeweler. Born in Birmingham, Frederick owned one of the largest private cactus collections in England, and he started a cactus nursery called The Friary.  He also created and edited The Cactus Journal - a monthly journal devoted exclusively to cacti and other succulent plants, which ran for 24 issues. Frederick also founded the first cactus society in England.  In 1899, he traveled to America and Mexico to collect cactus, and he wrote, Possessing one of the largest collections in England, I decided to go to the native home of the cactus – California, Arizona, and Mexico. so on January 7th, 1899, I left Liverpool Fort New York; then I went to the great city of St Louis where there is a cactus a society and a very good collection of cacti in the Botanical Gardens. After spending a few pleasant days at St Louis I took the train to Kansas City… then through New Mexico and arrived at San Bernardino California where I met Andrew Halstead Alverson a very enthusiastic Cactus collector. He took me out into the desert, and for the first time in my life, I was in the midst of wild cacti.   The trip was the adventure of a lifetime for Frederick. He battled snakes, scorpions, pumas, centipedes, and the harsh desert sun in an exploration of cactus country covering over 20,000 miles in the western hemisphere. In January 1900, for unknown reasons, Frederick's cactus journal and the cactus society abruptly ended. There was a mention in the final issues of The Cactus Journal that he was exploring the creation of a daffodil journal - but it was never printed. At the turn of the century, European gardeners outside of Germany had no real interest in cactus or succulents - that interest wouldn't be rekindled until the 1930s. And so, in 1905, Frederick's health was waning, and he sold his nursery. Frederick died in 1922.   1858 On this day, the poet, teacher, abolitionist, and writer Charlotte Forten started writing her poem called, To a Beloved Friend. Charlotte was friends with Sarah Cassey Smith and had lived with the Smith family while attending school. In 1856, Charlotte became Salem State's first African American graduate. Sarah and Charlotte shared a love for all flowers. The young women made and received May baskets in the springtime, and they both enjoyed spring nosegays or little bouquets. Once when Charlotte's teacher gave her a little bouquet, Charlotte wrote in her diary. Your voiceless lips, dear flowers, are living preachers.   The day before this day, in 1858 (May 1st), Charlotte found herself homesick for Salem. She disliked the noisy city life in Philadelphia, and she also confronted more significant restrictions on her activities as an African American in the City of Brotherly Love. She had noted in her diary that she had been "refused at two ice cream salons." And so, when Sarah's bouquet arrived on May 1st, Charlotte quickly interpreted the meaning of each flower according to floriography or the language of flowers - a common way for people to communicate in the 1800s. Sarah's handpicked Mayflowers symbolized welcome. The little Violets represented constant friendship, and the delicate Columbine was a reference to separation. The message of friendship and love across the miles of separation was received loud and clear. From her diary, we know the bouquet lifted Charlotte's mood and inspired Charlotte's poem called To a Beloved Friend.   1923 On this day,  Robert Frost's poem "Our Singing Strength" was first published in the New Republic. The poem begins, It snowed in spring on earth so dry and warm The flakes could find no landing place to form. Hordes spent themselves to make it wet and cold, And still they failed of any lasting hold. They made no white impression on the black. They disappeared as if earth sent them back.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Land Gardeners by Bridget Elworth and Henrietta Courtauld This book came out in 2020, and the subtitle is Cut Flowers. Let me begin by setting the table for you - because that's precisely the cover of this book. There's a table with a beautiful tablecloth and then a variety of porcelain vases on the table, all of different sizes and shapes. Behind that is a gallery of botanical art. Resting on the table are cut tulips, all kinds of tulips. And, then in two of the vases are different arrangements of these beautiful, fresh-picked tulips. It's just an absolutely stunning cover. The Land Gardeners is a five-star book on Amazon as well. Together, Bridget and Henrietta are English gardeners, and they established a firm that they call Land Gardeners. So, the book references their work - as well as their shared passion - which is, of course, flowers. In the real world, The Land Gardeners is a cut flower operation. The book, The Land Gardeners, provides everything you need to know to set up your own cut flower garden - and then everything that comes after, including gathering the flowers, even arranging. Vogue was a fan of this book, saying, A peak into their blossom-filled world. The book reads like a meander through their tumbling English gardens.   The Sunday Times wrote, One of the Best Gardening Books of the Year.   And The Oregonian said, Packed with ideas and inspiration, passion and beauty... This large-size, hardcover book is filled with stellar photographs that will also inspire you to display a vase filled with flowers you grew and arranged yourself.   This book is a big one. It's almost five pounds, 391 pages of cut flowers from the garden to the vase. You can get a copy of The Land Gardeners by Bridget Elworthy and Henrietta Courtauld and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $23.   Botanic Spark 1893 Birth of Norman Bor, Irish botanist and explorer. He was awarded the Linnean Medal of the Linnean Society in 1962 and served as an Assistant Director of Kew.  His wife, Eleanor, accompanied him to Assam and Tibet and then wrote a fabulous book about the adventure called The Adventures of a Botanist's Wife - a book I own multiple copies of - it's a favorite of mine. In 1952, a newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, featured Eleanor's book in an article called "On Top of the World." Here's an excerpt: Mrs. Bor had expected to share exciting plant discoveries and, at least, to give her name to a rare orchid. Instead, she found her husband was a specialist in grasses, and it was a new species of grass - extremely rare - but, to her, looking no more than a "mangy bit of fur" that finally bore her name. Once [ on a mountain] stepping from mist and snow, they saw below them... a blaze of rhododendrons and magnolias, and In their camp that night burned rhododendron logs. Their mountain trips were often dangerous... The Rupa bridge was especially terrifying, with only strands of cane for a foothold and tall hoops set a yard apart for the hands to grip. More menacing than cane bridges and cliff tracks were the insects. Wild animals were not alarming, but the hornets, centipedes, horse flies, dam dims, and above all, the leeches made camping in the jungle foothills a nightmare.   One reviewer wrote: Here is a story told with the charm and simplicity of a life spent in the foothills of the Himalayas where Eleanor Bor and her botanist husband tramp through jungled terrain establishing friendly relations with hill tribes and villagers, discovering the enchantments of mysterious undergrowth and carrying with them the domestic problems of household pets and family happenings. Their years in the jungle...are those of a true traveler.   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Podchaser Leave a Review   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events Today is National Zucchini Bread Day.   1851 Birth of George Herbert Engleheart, English clergyman and daffodil breeder. In 1889, George began breeding daffodils - some 700 varieties in his lifetime. Fans of Beersheba, Lucifer, or White Ladyowe a debt of gratitude to Reverend Engleheart. George spent every spare minute breeding, and his parishioners would often find a note tacked to the church door saying, No service today, working with daffodils.   1852 Birth of Marcus Jones, American geologist, mining engineer, and botanist. Marcus's mother loved plants, and every day, she sent Marcus to gather fresh flowers, which she displayed on the family's mantle. This daily chore was the beginning of his passion for botany. Marcus won national recognition for his work as a prominent botanist of the American West, and in 1923, he sold his personal herbarium for $25,000 - an impressive amount at the time. To this day, his collection represents the largest archive of plants from Utah. Marcus died in 1934 in San Bernardino, California. At the age of 81, he returned from a plant collecting trip at Lake Arrowhead when another driver hit his car. As seatbelts wouldn't be invented for another 25 years, Jones was ejected from his vehicle and died from a skull fracture.  Jones columbine, Aquilegia jonesii (ii = "ee-eye") is named for him. It is rare and, like most columbines, does not transplant well. Jonesii plants and seeds are sold by select nurseries.   1925 Birth of Joseph Henry Maiden, English-Australian botanist. Born in London, Joseph immigrated to New South Wales, Australia, hoping that the climate would improve his health. Joseph quickly landed a job as a museum curator in Sydney, and he also married a local woman named Eliza Jane Hammond. During his time in Australia, Joseph contributed to understanding Australian flora, especially the Eucalyptus genus.  After thoroughly studying Australian woods and essential oils, Joseph wrote his book called The Useful Native Plants of Australia. In 1896, Joseph was appointed the Director of the Sydney Botanic Gardens. In total, Joseph served as a botanist in Australia for 43 years. As for his Australian legacy, Joseph is remembered every September 1st, the first day of spring down under. It's also known as Wattle Day or Acacia Day. In Australia, the Wattle is a common name for Acacia. Recognizing their beauty and value, Joseph established the Wattle Day League, which fought to make the Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha "ah-KAY-see-ah pik-NANTH-ah") Australia's national floral emblem, and he also worked to establish Wattle Day. Since the inception of Wattle Day in 1909, Australians have worn a Wattle blossom, which looks like a little yellow pompom, in honor of the day. The Wattle blossom is also a favorite with pollinators. As plants, Wattles are tough evergreen shrubs and trees that can withstand Australia's droughts, winds, and bushfires. There are 760 Wattle species native to Australia's forest understory, woodlands, and open scrub. The common name Wattle refers to an old germanic term for weaving and the English craft of building with interwoven flexible twigs and branches. As the English settled in Australia, they often harvested Wattle (Acacia) and used it in their building construction. And here's a fun fact about Wattles (Acacia): Giraffes love to eat them.   1873 Birth of Walter de la Mare, English poet, short story writer, and novelist. He is best remembered for his works for children. In his poem, Peacock Pie, Walter wrote: A poor old Widow in her weeds Sowed her garden with wild-flower seeds; Not too shallow, and not too deep, And down came April -- drip -- drip -- drip. Up shone May, like gold, and soon Green as an arbour grew leafy June. Weeps she never, but sometimes sighs, And peeps at her garden with bright brown eyes; And all she has is all she needs -- A poor Old Widow in her weeds.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation The Essential Garden Design Workbook by Rosemary Alexander and Rachel Myers This book came out in 2017, and the subtitle is Completely Revised and Expanded. Well, the original version of this book was a best-selling classic. This is the upgraded book that came out five years ago. In this book, the eminent designer and educator Rosemary Alexander teamed up with rising design star Rachel Myers. And what these two women did is they share new garden plans, a ton of new photos and diagrams, and updated profiles of their 50 top plants that they think are timeless and that should be used by today's designers. So there are all kinds of fantastic, modern tips and advice in this book. This is also an excellent book for designers and gardeners interested in incorporating sustainability or plant diversity into their plans. Rosemary and Rachel show how to integrate computer-aided design into the garden design process.  And this book is perfect for folks wanting to start a garden design business. Now, of course, nowadays, you don't have to be an artist to be a landscape designer or to convey what you want to do with a particular garden or a job site. But you do need to know how to do the basics. You have to be able to survey a site and draw a plan to scale or use the right software to do that. Then if you're making a more significant presentation, maybe to a company or to an Arboretum, you'll need to include specific details, visuals, and even a mood board. And of course, costing if you want to land their proposal. And so this book gives you everything from soup to nuts on garden design. As Rosemary says, she believes that garden design is one of the most satisfying and rewarding professions - and I have many friends who would agree with her. Now when Gardens Illustrated reviewed this book, they said, The attention to detail at every stage is fantastic. Even if you don't want to be a designer, this book is worth having. This book is a big one. It's 392 pages of garden design - for students, professionals, and anyone looking to create a well-designed outdoor space. You can truly learn from the experts, and they will share it in detail in this book. You can get a copy of The Essential Garden Design Workbook by Rosemary Alexander and Rachel Myers and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $16.   Botanic Spark 1912 Birth of Julia Francis McHugh Morton, American author and botanist. A Fellow of the Linnean Society, Julia Morton was a famous expert and lecturer on plants. She was revered especially for her knowledge of plant medicine and toxicity. Known as the poison-plant lady, Julia worked to educate the public through letters and phone calls, lectures, and articles - even creating posters designed for hospital emergency rooms. Among the many ER calls Julia received was one from a doctor in Scotland. When a patient fresh from a Jamaican holiday was gravely ill, Julia deduced that a toxic castor bean from a souvenir necklace had been ingested. Over the years, Julia was the subject of many newspaper articles. Clever headlines showcased Julia's expertise, "She gets to the root of problems" and "She leaves no leaf unturned." In 1988, The Miami News published an article about Julia's help with a murder case of a teenage girl. The girl's car was found in the Dadeland Mall parking lot. The police brought Julia a half-inch blade of grass that was found stuck to the door handle of the car and some pieces of leaves that were wedged inside the door. Julia identified the grass as Giant Burma Reed and the leaves as undeveloped leaflets of Spanish Needles. She concluded that a short distance from the Dadeland Mall (perhaps near a nursery in a tall patch of Burma Reed), police might find the girl's body. Julia also predicted there were two killers. She correctly assumed that one had wet hands and had left Burma Reed on the driver's door, while the other had closed the passenger door so quickly it clipped the Spanish Needles. The following day, police officers found an area that matched Morton's description and solved their case. Like Marcus Jones, Julia Morton died in a car accident in 1996. She was 84. It was Julia Morton who said, Plants are always up to something.  So I don't take a vacation.  I operate on solar energy.  I can only stay indoors a certain length of time. Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

Snakes eat crabs, and they eat them in some pretty unusual ways.  Become a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/herphighlights FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com Main Paper References: Jayne, B. C., Voris, H. K., & Ng, P. K. L. (2018). How big is too big? Using crustacean-eating snakes (Homalopsidae) to test how anatomy and behaviour affect prey size and feeding performance. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 123(3), 636–650. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/bly007 Other Links: Feeding videos of crustacean eating snakes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtMR7I38s1U  Music: Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson Species Bi-week theme – Mike Mooney Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com

Daniel Brooks is a professor emeritus at the University of Toronto, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and the Linnean Society of London, and a Research Fellow of the Manter Laboratory of Parasitology, University of Nebraska State Museum. He has been working for the past decade as a free-lance consultant on the evolutionary biology of climate change and emerging disease. He is also an author of The Stockholm Paradigm, which we discussed in his first episode, during the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown. In his second episode, we discussed the COVID-19 vaccine. The Stockholm Paradigm The crisis of emerging disease has been a century and a half in the making. Human, veterinary and crop health practitioners convinced themselves that disease could be controlled by medicating the sick, vaccinating those at risk, and eradicating the parts of the biosphere responsible for disease transmission. Most climate scientists made no connection between climate changes and disease. Evolutionary biologists assured themselves that coevolution between pathogens and hosts provided a firewall against disease emergence by pathogens moving to new hosts. None of those traditional perspectives anticipated the onslaught of emerging infectious diseases confronting humanity. A new understanding of the evolution of pathogen-host systems, called the Stockholm Paradigm, explains what is happening. The planet is a minefield of pathogens with pre-existing capacity to infect susceptible but unexposed hosts, needing only the opportunity to come into contact with them. Climate change has always been the major catalyst for such new opportunities, through disrupting local ecosystem structure and allowing pathogens and hosts to move to new ecosystems. Once pathogens expand to new hosts, novel pathogen variants may emerge, each with new capacities to infect hosts. Mathematical models and real-world examples uniformly support the conceptual framework. Emerging disease is thus one of the climate change-related threat multipliers confronting humanity. The universe of risk is thus enormous and climate change is the trigger - time is short, danger is great, we are unprepared. Even without deadly global catastrophes of the scale of the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic, emerging diseases cost humanity more than a trillion dollars per year in treatment and lost productivity. The Stockholm Paradigm also offers hope. Embodied in the DAMA (document, assess, monitor, act) protocol, we can “anticipate to mitigate” emerging disease, buying time and saving money while we search for more effective ways to cope with this challenge.

The gang discusses two taxonomy papers about dinosaurs, fulfilling their contractual obligation to produce one dinosaur-centric podcast every 8 to 10 years. The first paper finds strong evidence to support the validity of Torosaurus as a genus separate from Triceratops and is quite cool. The second paper is that awful T-rex paper from about a month ago. Meanwhile, Curt remembers too much, Amanda enjoys self-righteous fury, James goes too far, and we all get way too drunk and rambley for our own good. CONTENT WARNING: This episode gets very salty and pushes past our usual frequency of just a few expletives per podcast. You have been warned.   Up-Goer Five (Curt Edition): Our friends talk about two papers that look at big angry animals with no hair from the past. The first paper looks at a type of big angry animal that had a big thing coming out of the back of its head. There are a lot of these types of animals, but there are two of these types that have been a problem for some time. Some people think that these two types are two different things. However, some other people think that there is just one type and we are seeing the same animal get old and calling that old animal a new type that isn't real. This paper looks at some new parts from this other type that some people think is just one type that is old. They find that the parts show the animal was not old by looking at how the hard parts grow. This means that the two types have to be different and not the same. They also talk about the other parts of the animal that do not make sense if these two types are the same. So they show that we should instead see these as two different types of angry animals with a big thing coming out of the back of their heads. The second paper is bad and no one should read it.   References: Paul, Gregory S., W. Scott Persons,  and Jay Van Raalte. "The Tyrant Lizard King, Queen and Emperor: Multiple  Lines of Morphological and Stratigraphic Evidence Support Subtle  Evolution and Probable Speciation Within the North American Genus  Tyrannosaurus." Evolutionary Biology (2022): 1-24. Mallon, Jordan C., et al. "The record of Torosaurus (Ornithischia: Ceratopsidae) in Canada and its taxonomic implications." Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (2022).

Zoe interviews Kris Helgen, Chief Scientist and Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute. They discuss how one species became three, what makes these animals unique, and what other questions scientists could ask about them in the future. This paper is in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society's February 2022 issue, “Across the great divide: revision of the genus Eupetaurus (Sciuridae: Pteromyini), the woolly flying squirrels of the Himalayan region, with the description of two new species.” A copy of the paper is available here: https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/194/2/502/6287636 To learn more about Kris, follow him on Twitter: @khelgen Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), like the podcast page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast), and music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom). If you would like to support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPodcast

Dr. Elsa Panciroli, a Leverhulme Early Career Research Fellow at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History in England, and associate researcher at National Museums Scotland, is my guest this week. She's also the author of a new book called Beasts Before Us: the Untold Story of Mammal Origins and Evolution, which is coming out in the US on September 7th, 2021. She talks to me about her paper published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society in which she and her coauthors describe a species of an extinct mammaliaform, as well as a new genus, all from the British Isles! We talk about early mammals that roamed Earth with dinosaurs, what the world may have looked like when these organisms and dinosaurs roamed the planet, the joys of looking for fossils on the Isle of Skye, how to see bones embedded in rock, teeth that look like mountains, “mammals the size of pit bulls” that ate baby dinosaurs, pictures of a book in a nook! The title of the paper is “New species of mammaliaform and the cranium of Borealestes (Mammaliaformes: Docodonta) from the Middle Jurassic of the British Isles.” The paper is currently available open access in the August 2021 issues of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society: https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/192/4/1323/6118471?redirectedFrom=fulltext To learn more about Dr. Elsa Panciroli, follow her on Twitter (@gsciencelady), or visit her website: https://elsapanciroli.wordpress.com/ For a quick video about this work, be sure to watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmvN0DrXTTc Be sure to follow New Species on Twitter (@PodcastSpecies), like the podcast page on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/NewSpeciesPodcast), and music in this podcast is "No More (Instrumental)," by HaTom (https://fanlink.to/HaTom). If you would like to support this podcast: https://www.patreon.com/NewSpeciesPodcast