science

Werewolves, Vampires and Zombies

In this spooky Halloween special, Ashton Dickerson joins us to discuss werewolves, vampires and zombies of the animal kingdom. We even throw in a witch and some Frankenstein’s monsters.

We referenced some visual media during our recording; see what we were seeing below:

To learn more about Ashton’s research, you can find her on Twitter (@aScienceBird).

Toad-Smart Quolls - Interview

In 1935, cane toads were introduced to Australia. This proved to be a terrible mistake. Australia now has hundreds of millions of toxic toads advancing across the country. How can we stop native predators from eating these highly poisonous toads?

In this episode, we chat with Dr Ella Kelly and Dr Naomi Indigo about their innovative efforts to save the endangered northern quoll – involving not-so-silly sausages, toad-smart traits, and the smell of “death”.

To read more about Ella and Naomi’s research, check out their peer-reviewed scientific papers, listed below. You can also find Ella and Naomi on Twitter (@ecology_ella and @NaomiIndigo).

Sources:

  1. Indigo N., Smith J., Webb J.K. and Phillips B. (2018) Not such silly sausages: Evidence suggests northern quolls exhibit aversion to toads after training with toad sausages. Austral Ecology 43 (5), 592-601. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12595

  2. Indigo N., Smith J., Webb J.K. and Phillips B. (2019) Bangers and cash: Baiting efficiency in a heterogeneous population. Wildlife Society Bulletin 43 (4), 669-677. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.1012

  3. Jolly C.J., Kelly E., Gillespie G.R., Phillips B. and Webb J.K. (2017) Out of the frying pan: Reintroduction of toad‐smart northern quolls to southern Kakadu National Park. Austral Ecology 43 (2), 139-149. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.12551

  4. Kelly E. and Phillips B.L. (2017) Get smart: native mammal develops toad-smart behavior in response to a toxic invader. Behavioural Ecology 28 (3), 854-858. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arx045

  5. Kelly E., Phillips B.L. and Webb J.K. (2018) Taste overshadows less salient cues to elicit food aversion in endangered marsupial. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 209, 83-87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2018.09.003

  6. Kelly E. and Phillips B.L. (2019) Targeted gene flow and rapid adaptation in an endangered marsupial. Conservation Biology 33 (1), 112-121. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13149

  7. Kelly E., Kenbi Traditional Owners and Rangers, Jolly C.J., Indigo N., Smart A., Webb J. and Phillips B. (2020) No outbreeding depression in a trial of targeted gene flow in an endangered Australian marsupial. Conservation Genetics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-020-01316-z

Isolation Animals: The Good

Need some good news? In this episode, we discuss how lockdown is affecting wildlife - in good ways. From brighter bees to healthier hedgehogs, find out how animals might be making the most of this situation.

If all this episode feels one-sided, don’t worry…there’s more to come in our next episode.

This episode features audio from the Dawn Chorus project by BIOTOPIA and the Nantesbuch Foundation: https://dawn-chorus.org/. These audio recordings are from (links below):

My Favourite Parasite

Mind-controlling viruses, vampire fish and crab-castrating barnacles. Sound like science fiction? Welcome to the real and terrifying world of parasites. In this episode, Kaya Moore joins us to chat about some of the world’s most incredible parasites - and what they can do to their animal hosts. Will it give you nightmares? Possibly. Is it worth listening anyway? Definitely.

 

Conservation Special: Road Salts - Interview

 

Every winter, in the United States alone, more than 15 million tons of salt are spread over roads to remove ice. So what are the effects of all this extra salt on wildlife? In this episode, Dr Gareth Hopkins describes how increased salinity affects freshwater newts, and debunks a common myth about ‘environmentally-friendly’ de-icers.

Read more about Gareth’s research here: https://garethrhopkins.com/