Episodes
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Forestry is incredibly interesting and important, and it really speaks to me personally, because it’s one of these fields that is inherently interdisciplinary. You have to understand how things relate and connect to create a healthy, sustainable system.
But traditionally, forestry was all about resource extraction, which often is done at the expense of long term sustainability.
And my guest today, Ethan Tapper, is just the person to help us understand how forestry is changing. Ethan is a professional forester, and has incredibly unique personal experiences, which have helped him gain a compelling perspective on what makes for a “healthy” forest, and the trade-offs involved in getting there.
Ethan personally manages a tract of forest called Bear Island in Vermont, and has had to deal with expanses of invasive species, disease, mismanagement, and much more to turn the tides and make the forest healthier.
Today, we discuss exactly how Ethan defines what a healthy forest is, the trade-offs he considers when facing challenges such as invasive species and disease, the use of herbicides and forest thinning, and much more.
And by the way, Ethan has packaged his personal journey into a book, due out in September 2024 called How to Love a Forest. And you can find him on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Also find Ethan at ethantapper.com, and his new consultancy, Bear Island Forestry.
FULL SHOW NOTES
LINKS
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Bringing Nature Home – by Doug Tallamy
The Hidden Forest Biography of an Ecosystem by Jon R. Luoma [Amazon Link]
Nature’s Best Hope – by Doug Tallamy, Dr. Tallamy’s 2020 release
The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees – by Doug Tallamy, 2021
Runes of the North by Sigurd OlsenPrevious Podcast Episodes Mentioned
Doug Tallamy on Nature's Archive
People and Organizations
Griff Griffith TikTok / Facebook and Redwoods Rising TikTok / Facebook
Kyle Lybarger at The Native Habitat Project
Tom GrovesSupport Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
Snakes are the perfect topic for Nature’s Archive. They are often over-generalized to fit a worst-case stereotype, but they are critically important to our food webs and ecosystems. And like so much of what we discuss, once you start learning just a bit about them, you see how amazing and diverse they are.
And there are few better suited to guide us through the world of snakes than Dr. Emily Taylor. Dr. Taylor is a professor of biological sciences at California Poly San Luis Obispo and has been studying mating systems and physiology of rattlesnakes for 25 years. She’s also founder of Project RattleCam, which monitors a huge Prairie Rattlesnake rookery in Colorado, founder of Central Coast Snake Services, and an author. In fact, her latest book California Snakes and How to Find Them comes out on May 7 2024, which is literally tomorrow from the original release date of this podcast.
Today, we discuss the diversity of snakes across the United States - and I have to say, I kept saying United Snakes as I tried to read this the first time. And of course, how to find snakes, just like in the title of her book.
We discuss what different snakes eat, why the Kingsnake is named kingsnake, why live animals can’t simply claw their way out of a snake’s belly, and what it’s like to be surrounded by dozens of rattlesnakes all rattling at the same time.
Of course, we also discuss how snakes contribute to our ecosystems, and the threats that they face.
Dr. Taylor can be found on Instagram, Twitter, and Threads as @snakeymamaYou can check emilytaylorscience.com for events she is attending and much more.
FULL SHOW NOTES
LINKS
Advocates for Snake Preservation
California Snakes and How to Find Them - the NEW book!
Central Coast Snake Services
Dr. Christina Zdenek - Australian snake researcher, IG, Twitter
Free Snake Relocation Directory
Marissa Ishimatsu - major photographic contributor to Dr. Taylor's new book. Check Marissa's instagram for incredible snake and nature photography
Project RattleCam
Raptors Are The Solution - resources for dealing with rodents that don't harm snakes, birds, and pets
Save the SnakesSupport Us On Patreon!
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
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Episodes manquant?
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2024 is going to be another year of the cicada, with the emergence of two periodical cicada groups, or broods (Brood XIII and Brood XIX), at the same time, roughly in late April to early May.
Now, throughout much of the world, cicadas serenade us in summer afternoons - you might be familiar with that, and wonder “what’s the big deal”.
But in a few special locations, periodical cicadas emerge on a specific cycle, every 13 or 17 years. These emergences are like clockwork - somehow these insects know exactly when to emerge from the ground, in synchrony with each other, across a vast geography.
But it gets better still. Multiple species of cicada emerge together, sometimes in massive numbers approaching 1.5 million per acre of land.
And weirder still, these same species might emerge on a totally different schedule, offset by years, in areas a few hundred miles away.
What’s going on here? Well, this is just the start when it comes to the amazing aspects of cicadas. And today’s guest, Dr. Chris Simon, is perhaps the world’s expert on Cicadas. She joined me for an incredible wide-ranging discussion all the way from New Zealand.
Dr. Simon has been studying cicadas for decades. She is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and has a list of accolades so long that I could spend several minutes reading them.
So get ready to learn why these broods of cicadas emerge as they do, how glaciation influenced their locations, why 13 year cicadas tend to occur further south than 17 year cicadas, and of course, how you can see them too.
You can find more about Dr. Simon at cicadas.uconn.edu. And if you are interested in helping contribute to research on cicadas, download the cicada safari app from Apple or Google. More on that in the episode.
FULL SHOW NOTES
LINKSUniversity of Connecticut Cicada Website that includes the recordings heard in today's episode.
Cicada Mania has more information on cicadas!
Cicada Safari App
Gene Kritsky's book "A Tale of Two Broods: The 2024 Emergence of Periodical Cicada Broods XIII and XIX"
Scissors Grinder (an annual cicada we mentioned)
The Queen of Trees Documentary
Tumble Science Podcast for Kids has an episode with Dr. Simon
Thanks to Kat Hill for editing help this week.
Thanks to the University of Connecticut and Dr. John Cooley for use of the cicada recordings heard in today's episode, found on cicadas.uconn.edu.Support Us On Patreon!
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
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When it comes to understanding nature, it often seems like the ocean surface - that undulating reflective layer of water - is more like an impenetrable curtain than just a layer of water.
There is just so much we don’t know about, and are too quick to dismiss, all because we can’t easily observe what’s going on down there.
Thankfully, octopuses are having a renaissance in popular culture, and as a result, serve as sort of an ambassador to the oceans. And this is in no small part due to the efforts of my guests today, Sy Montgomery and Warren Carlyle.
Sy Montgomery is the author of Soul of the Octopus and Secrets of the Octopus, among her many works.
And Warren Carlyle is the founder of OctoNation, a nonprofit octopus fan club boasting over a million members, and they have information on and photos and videos of nearly every octopus species on Earth.
Today we discuss just how incredible octopuses - and I admit, standard words like amazing and incredible just seem to fall short when describing these creatures.
They can contort and fit through tiny holes, change their color and texture in the blink of an eye, they can reason, some can use tools, and they are incredibly strong. They range in size from a kernel of corn to 300 pounds.
We cover a range of topics, but we delve deepest into exploring their intelligence. This, coupled with their distinctive lifestyle, physiology, and abilities, often leaves us humans astounded.
Sy and Warren had a new book, Secrets of the Octopus, released on March 19 2024, and are contributing to an exciting three part National Geographic TV series coming out on Earth Day 2024.
You can find Sy at symontgomery.com, and check out Warren’s efforts at octonation.com and @octonation on most social media platforms.
Get ready for a jaw-dropping and mind bending discussion about octopuses with Sy Montgomery and Warren Carlyle.
FULL SHOW NOTES
Links
Big Eye Jellyhead video ballooning like a parachute
OctoNation (and Octopedia) - Instagram , Facebook, TikTok
secretsoftheoctopus.com - The new book!
www.symontgomery.com
Dr. Alex Schnell
Warren on Social Media: IG
Sy on Social Media: IGSupport Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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My guest today is Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. Dr. Wynn-Grant is the co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, is a wildlife ecologist and affiliated researcher at the UC Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental and Science Management.
She’s also an author, with her new memoir entitled “Wild Life” coming out on April 2.
Today we discuss Dr. Wynn-Grant’s unique and inspiring personal journey into wildlife ecology, her awakening to the world of environmental justice, triggered by Hurricane Katrina, as well as some of her active research pursuits, including her work with bears and mountain lions that seem to have a propensity for visiting the beach.
I really enjoyed both the book and the conversation today, because Dr. Wynn-Grant has so many facets of her story that I can relate to, and that I find inspiring, and I think you will too.
Find Dr. Wynn-Grant on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or her website.
FULL SHOW NOTES
LINKS
Dangermond Preserve
Going Wild Podcast
Mapping Environmental Justice
Wild Life - Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World - by Rae Wynn-Grant
Thanks to Kat Hill for editing help on this episode.Support Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
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Have you ever seen a fuzzy looking ant? Maybe it looked like a little pipe cleaner with fuzzy red or yellow hair?
If so, you probably saw a velvet ant. And here’s the thing - it’s not even an ant at all. They’re wingless wasps, and they often turn up along hiking trails, roadsides, and sometimes even in your backyard! And if you haven’t seen one, hit pause and check out the show notes on naturesarchive.com for a few photos.
What’s more, these wasps have quite the reputation and an amazing natural history.
With me today is Dr. Joseph Wilson, an evolutionary ecologist and associate professor of biology at Utah State University. Dr. Wilson is also the co-author of the new book, Velvet Ants of North America, as well as the wildly popular The Bees in Your Backyard.
I reached out to Dr. Wilson because I’ve always been fascinated with velvet ants, but found precious little information about them. I purchased the book and reached out to Dr. Wilson, and he graciously agreed to share some of his knowledge.
For example, did you know that some velvet ants have an auditory warning? And half of velvet ants are nocturnal? We discuss why we seem to usually see velvet ants deterministically wandering near trails, why they are often - and inaccurately - called cow killers, and more.
But I couldn’t have a chat with Dr. Wilson and not talk bees, so we kick things off with some discussion of bees, buzz pollination and more before transitioning to velvet ants.
Find Dr. Wilson on The Bees in Your Backyard, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
FULL SHOW NOTES
MORE LINKS
Also check out our interview with Krystle Hickman (episode #66) - about finding and photographing native bees.
The Bees in Your Backyard by Olivia Messinger Carril and Joseph Wilson
Common Bees of Western North America
Common Bees of Eastern North America
Velvet Ants of North America by Williams, Pan, and WilsonNote: books are affiliate links to Bookshop.org. Support independent bookstores AND Jumpstart Nature by purchasing through these links or our bookshop store.
Other Insect-oriented PodcastsJust Bugs
Bug Banter
Bugs Need HeroesSupport Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
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In nature, tree physiology is like the engine that keeps forests running smoothly, similar to how human physiology keeps our bodies going. Just as we study how our bodies' metabolism, respiratory systems, and other systems work to keep us healthy, biologists can look at tree physiology to understand how trees grow, use energy, and cope with challenges in their environment.
Today’s guest, Dr. Lucy Kerhoulas, is an Associate Professor of Forest Ecophysiology at Cal-Poly Humboldt. She specializes in the forest physiology of northwestern California, which includes redwoods, Douglas fir, oaks, and more.
Today Dr. Kerhoulas explores various aspects of forest physiology including how they adapt to different conditions such as fire and drought. She delves into the scientific tools used to study how trees respond to environmental changes, including measuring carbon isotopes in tree tissues to assess impacts of drought. And this understanding of carbon isotope preferences provides interesting insights into historical atmospheric carbon levels, dating back hundreds of years. In fact, this is sometimes called “the smoking gun”, because it provides strong evidence of fossil fuel contributions to atmospheric carbon.
Dr. Kerhoulas also discusses how trees can share resources and signal each other during times of stress, possibly creating a cooperative environment within a forest.
This was a jam-packed discussion, and I hope you enjoy it.
FULL SHOW NOTES
Links to Topics Mentioned
Bigfoot Trail Alliance
CDFW
CNPS
CZU Complex Fire Map
Kerhoulas Forest Physiology Lab
Michael Kauffmann in Nature’s Archive Episode #41 discusses conifer trees and the Klamath MountainsThanks to Kat Hill for editing help in today's episode.
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
You’re in for a treat today - it’s like two episodes in one.
My guest today is Allasandra Valdez, a botanist working on her PhD in plant physiology in Cornell University’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department. Allasandra also has a background studying invasive species, and is the creator and host of The Happy Botanist podcast.
Today’s wide-ranging discussion touches on everything from studying plants' response to climate change through looking at carbon 13 isotopes, to invasive species including the Hemlock wooly adelgid, to the surprising behaviors of an invasive grass called Johnson Grass.
We also discuss Allasandra’s work in science communication and her podcast, The Happy Botanist.
As you know, my Jumpstart Nature organization seeks to amplify great work being done by others, and after meeting Allasandra and learning about her work and her vision, I felt that she fit the bill. So the last 30 minutes or so of today’s episode is a re-share of one of her episodes with Dr. Dan Katz. Dr. Katz studies airborne pollen - specifically allergenic pollen. If you’ve ever wondered why some pollen causes so much havoc, or if those pollen forecasts you sometimes see on the local weather are accurate, stay tuned to learn more.
Find Allasandra on Instagram and TikTok, and her podcast is on all of the usual podcast services, and the web at The Happy Botanist podcast.
FULL SHOW NOTES
Links
Daniel Katz: https://www.thekatzlab.com/
The Happy Botanist podcastSupport Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
Many of you might recall the dramatic 2020 fire season in the western USA. In California alone, close to 4 million acres burned. Cities were clouded with smoke and unhealthy air for many weeks. I had ash fall at my home in San Jose, CA on several occasions.
But did you know that based on pre-colonial historical estimates, 4 million acres burned would be considered “below average”. How can that be? Does that mean that every summer in the 1700’s had smoke filled air and devastating fires? Spoiler alert: the answer is no.
In today’s episode, we reconcile how it was possible for more acres of land to burn every year, but with less dramatic impact. In fact, that historical fire was largely beneficial to the land.
Our guest today, who helps us decipher historical fire and how we can add more beneficial fire back to the landscape is Lenya Quinn-Davidson.
And when you have a guest who’s first name literally means “firewood” in Spanish (alternative spelling), you know you’ve found the right person to discuss wildfire management.
But Lenya Quinn-Davidson’s qualifications extend well beyond her name. She’s the Director of the FIRE network for the University of California’s Agriculture and Natural Resources organization. She focuses on the various ways humans connect with fire, including the use of prescribed fire for habitat restoration, invasive species control, and ecosystem and community resiliency. She’s actively engaged in local and national prescribed fire communities, and is an advocate for increasing diversity in the world of wildfire.
A quick aside before we get into the interview. Obviously, climate change is a huge component for why we see bigger fires. Heat has a disproportionate impact on fire intensity. So while we don’t talk about climate change much today, it is absolutely an amplifying factor in wildfire intensity and frequency.
You can find Lenya at LenyaQD on twitter.
FULL SHOW NOTES
Links
California Prescribed Burn Associations
Dixie Fire
Scott Stephens - wildfire reconstructions from UC Berkeley
UCANR Fire Advisors
WTREX - Women-in-Fire Prescribed Fire Training ExchangesThanks to Kat Hill for editing help in this episode.
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
I bet you’ve heard of the National Park Service. Or the US Forest Service which manages all of our National Forests.
But did you know that there is another land management agency that manages more public land than either the National Parks or National Forests? This overlooked agency is the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM.
Josh Jackson has become one of the BLM’s top enthusiasts, with a huge following on his forgottenlandscalifornia instagram. He’s also a writer and conservationist, and is working on a new book all about BLM lands.
Today we dig into what turned Josh on to these fascinating places. He gives us a nice overview of what they’re like, the amazing sites and plants and animals you may see, and how you can enjoy them too.
We also learn about his upcoming book, to be published with Heyday Books. It sounds intriguing , and aims to fill a major gap in the literature. You can find volumes about national and state parks and national forests - but try to find similar literature on BLM lands. Good luck on that!
I strongly suggest you follow Josh on his forgottenlandscalifornia instagram to see and hear about some of these amazing places.
FULL SHOW NOTES
LINKS
People and Organizations
Baba Dioum
Bureau of Land Management's visitors website
Heyday Books
Obi Kaufmann
Books and Other Things
California Desert Plants, by Kauffmann, Rundel, and Gustafson
Federal Land Policy and Management Act
In Defense of Public Lands, by Steven Davis
Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold
These American Lands: Parks, Wilderness, and the Public Lands, by Zaslowsky and Watkins
The Trouble With Wilderness - William Cronon's essaySupport Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
Today’s episode is all about California Condors with Tiana Williams-Claussen, the director of the Yurok Tribe’s wildlife department. This episode is actually from my friend Michelle Fullner of the Golden State Naturalist podcast. If you don’t know Golden State Naturalist, I think this episode is pretty indicative of Michelle’s work. She travels around California to meet and interview interesting people in the field. There is a definite advantage to in-person interviews, and I wish I could do more.
Even though this episode is about California Condors, and the podcast is California-centric, today’s episode is still broadly applicable. California Condors historically lived in a large chunk of the western North America, from southern Canada to northern Mexico. And the challenges facing Condors, and the efforts to reintroduce and sustain them have many parallels.
Now, I don’t want to take away from Michelle’s introduction for this episode coming shortly. But I do want to tell you why I wanted to cover Condors on Nature’s Archive.
Right off the bat, condors are huge - boasting a 9 foot wingspan. They’re also critically endangered, which is why Tiana Williams-Claussen is such a great guest - she’s leading a reintroduction program with the Yurok Tribe in northern California.
As long time listeners know, I particularly enjoy covering overlooked and misrepresented flora and fauna. And for today, I’m going to lump condors and vultures together. In fact, in North America, vultures and condors are in the same family of birds, and occupy similar ecological roles.
And what role is that? Well, the textbooks say “scavengers”. And if you are like most people, you might have an unconscious negative bias towards scavengers. Why? So much of our human-centric perspective is based on how we live, and casts a negative light towards other evolved lifestyles, such as parasitism, or in this case, scavenging.
To scavenge - that is, eat already dead animals - one must have some pretty amazing adaptations. Afterall, the moment an animal dies, bacteria starts to take over. And the fact the animal died in the first place might indicate that it was already diseased, especially if it didn’t die as roadkill.
If a diseased carcass remains on the landscape for an extended period of time, it can become a disease vector. But vultures and condors are special. Their acidic stomachs and unique immune systems help protect them.
I heard a great reframing of the role condors and vultures play - instead of scavengers, they are nature’s immune system. By rapidly clearing dead animals, they prevent and halt disease spread. And there are examples around the world where vultures had died off for various, usually human-caused reasons, and this resulted in significant increases in diseases in other animals - including rabies.
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
Double the nature content in the same amount of time as a typical Nature's Archive? Well, I think we've come close today, and no, we're not playing an interview at double speed.
Here's your chance to hear two episodes of the Jumpstart Nature podcast from our pilot season, covering the topics of treating your yard like a habitat (The Yard of the Future Full Show Notes), and how shifting baseline syndrome affects our perception of the health of the environment (We Live in a 10% World Full Show Notes).
You might recognize bits and pieces of these episodes, because I aired a couple of the interviews in their entirety on Nature's Archive. But there is lots of new content that hasn't aired here.
I hope you enjoy this format! Jumpstart Nature brings multiple perspectives to topics we cover, and ties it together with an entertaining and inspiring narrative from Griff Griffith.
Let me know what you think! And if you like it, please subscribe to Jumpstart Nature on your favorite podcast app.
Guests in this double feature include Dr. Doug Tallamy, Mary Phillips, Leslie Inman, Dr. Loren McClenachan, Dr. Alison Whipple, Ben Goldfarb, and Francisco Saavedra Jr.
And regular Nature's Archive interview podcasts will be back in two weeks!
Links
The Yard of the Future Full Show Notes
We Live in a 10% World Full Show Notes
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Music: Horde Of Geese by Alexander Nakarada
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
Let’s dive into the enchanting world of hidden wonders that come to life after dark!
Our guests today are Charles Hood and José Martínez-Fonseca, authors of the new book “Nocturnalia: Nighttime Life of the Western USA" from Heyday Books.
Charles is an author, poet, birder, and world traveler, and as you’ll hear, an exceptional naturalist, too. Jose has a PhD in Bat Ecology, and as a result, has extensive experienced studying animals of the night.
Today we uncover the intriguing behaviors of nocturnal creatures such as nectar-feeding bats and vampire bats, scorpions that glow under UV light, and the often ignored but fascinating small owls - we’re talking owls the size of a American Robin - or even smaller! Observe how even the familiar environment of urban backyards transform into arenas of ecological discovery when the sun goes down.
Tailored for nature enthusiasts and curious minds alike, this conversation is a gateway to a world less explored - the intriguing and overlooked world of nocturnal nature.
FULL SHOW NOTES (with photos!)
LINKS
A Salad Only The Devil Would Eat, by Charles Hood
Charles Hood's Website
Jose Martinez-Fonseca on Instagram, and his photography website
Nature's Archive episode about Bats with Dr. Dave JohnstonSupport Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
Weather is like your mood, and climate is like your personality. Those are the words of today’s guest, Dr. Marshall Shepherd (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram).
Despite the clear differences between these two concepts, there are many topics of confusion that persist. For example, is El Nino, which we discussed a few weeks ago on this podcast, a climate condition or a weather condition? And how can forecasters be confident in their long term climate predictions when it is so hard to predict weather 10 days out?
Dr. Shepherd is just the person to help us understand these concepts. He is the Director of the Atmospheric Sciences program at the University of Georgia. He’s also host of the Weather Channel series Weather Geeks, previously a research meteorologist for NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, and has had multiple popular TED talks.
Today we talk about climate and weather and how they are predicted. We discuss the computer models used for both, how they differ, how they've improved, and where they still need improvement.
He also shares some of his research on how urban areas affect and change weather, and several other fascinating topics.
This episode might sound different than a typical Nature’s Archive interview. That’s because we were planning to use this conversation in an upcoming Jumpstart Nature podcast. So, you might hear a few terms and concepts mentioned without explanation - but stick with it, because we end up defining everything later.
Check these past episodes for more information on topics discussed today: episode #80 on oceans and El Nino and episode #62 on snowflake and precipitation genesis
FULL SHOW NOTES
Dr. Shepherd's Publications
Ed Lorenz and Chaos Theory
Example Forecast Discussion available from the National Weather Service
Hurricane Otis
Six America’s Study
TED Talks: 3 kinds of bias that shape your worldview (2018); Slaying the "zombies" of climate science (2013)Support Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
There are living trees in the United States that are approaching 5000 years old - and I’m not talking about trees that clone (I’m looking at you, aspen). Imagine if those trees could talk! Well, in a way, they can!
That’s where dendrochronologists like Dr. Grant Harley come in.
And it turns out that the science of dendrochronology is so much more far reaching than I ever imagined. Dr. Harley tells us how he reads the trees, inferring things like climate patterns, wildfire history, and community ecology. But this unique science even allows for dating artifacts, such as coffins, cabins, shipwrecks, and other wooden objects.
We cover all of this and more, including how tree rings are assessed without killing the tree. And how technology is used to make these assessments. Dr. Harley also answers why trees in the western US make better specimens for assessing historical climate. And just what is the medieval climate anomaly and why is it important to us today?
I feel like Dr. Harley could make a series of podcasts out of dendrochronology, the history it tells us, and the mysteries it helps us solve. Find Dr. Harley on Twitter @dendrotrog.
FULL SHOW NOTES
Links To Topics Discussed
Note: links to books are affiliate links
Fundamentals of Tree Ring Research by James Speer
The Fellowship of the Tree Rings RadioLab episode that Dr. Harley appeared on
North American Dendroecological Fieldweek
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
As you all know, I find wildfire to be fascinating. It’s complex, simultaneously necessary and at times devastating, and wildly misunderstood. And the landscape of fire is rapidly changing - literally and figuratively. So, I hope to continue to bring a variety of voices and perspectives on wildfire - including today.
Have you ever wondered what it is like to be on the fire lines with a wildfire crew? Or what it takes to join a crew? Or the differences between crews, such as engine crews, hand crews, and hot shot crews? And how do they actually manage active wildfires? And where does prescribed and cultural burning fit into the picture?
Today’s guest, Amanda Monthei, helps us get some answers. Amanda is a former wildland firefighter, having participated in a variety of crews, including a hot shot crew. She is now a writer, host of the Life with Fire podcast where she interviews a wide variety of people involved with wildfire, and she’s an occasional public information officer on wildfires.
In addition to her podcast, you can find Amanda at lwf_pod on twitter, lifewithfirepodcast on Facebook, and lifewithfirepod on instagram.
I hope you enjoy today’s episode - and be sure to check out the show notes on podcast.naturesarchive.com to see the video we referenced, and links to everything we discuss, including Amanda’s social media accounts!
FULL SHOW NOTES
Links to Topics Discussed
Life with Fire Podcast (Amanda's Podcast)
Good Fire Podcast
High Country NewsRelated Nature's Archive Podcasts
Justin Angle - On the Fireline
Rick Halsey - Wildfire Ecology of the Chaparral and the American WestSupport Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
Dr. Emma Greig is a behavioral ecologist who has been leading Project FeederWatch, a multi-decade community science effort led by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada.
FeederWatch Scientific DataKilling with kindness: Does widespread generalised provisioning of wildlife help or hinder biodiversity conservation efforts? - scientific paper by Jack Shutt and Alex LeesPreventing Window StrikesProject FeederWatch - Begins on November 1!
Today's discussion could be broadly characterized as "how to take care of the birds that visit your yard" - and you might be surprised at some of the recommendations.
Our discussion begins in Australia, where Dr. Greig did her dissertation. Her work studied the amazing behavior of the splendid fairywren, a small and colorful Australian bird, who literally sing in the shadows of a predator.
From there, we get into Project FeederWatch and the practice of bird feeding in general. Project FeederWatch has collected an immense dataset that reveals a lot about birds that visit feeders and people's yards in general. We discuss some of the findings, and how you can participate. It's easy!
It's a wide ranging discussion, including topics like - does feeding birds affect their migration routes or timing, or their geographic ranges? How to minimize pests getting into your feeders? Does widespread feeding birds impact populations or the composition of bird communities?
We also talk about best practices for feeding birds. Yes, we're taking on a responsibility of caring for wild animals, so there are several important things we need to do, such as paying attention to disease spread.
Dr. Greig gets into all of this and more. So if you feed birds or are considering feeding birds, this is an important episode to listen to.
Find Project FeederWatch on Twitter.
Check out Jumpstart Nature's podcast episode #2, "Plant Your Birdfeeder", for more from Dr. Greig and other experts on birds and their habitats.
FULL SHOW NOTES
Links To Topics DiscussedSupport Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
Have you heard of El Niño? Some people call it the single biggest influence on winter weather in North America. But what is it, and how does it work? And we're in an El Niño event this year, and it's going to affect our weather (and ecology!)
There is always much confusion about El Niño, what it is, why it occurs, and how it might alter our weather in the coming seasons.
Today's episode looks at El Niño, which is one part of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO. Consider this a primer - an accessible look at some of the mechanisms and impacts of El Niño, and how and why it can impact weather from India to California and beyond. And we also include a few ecological tidbits here and there.
In order to give El Niño its due, we also cover some of the basics of how oceans influence weather.
I tried hard to pack a lot of information into 50 minutes, along with a lot of analogies to help reinforce some of the points. Let me know how I did! And of course, these are very complex systems, so there is much that I couldn't cover.
Looking ahead, we will have an expert climatologist later this year, so this episode will serve as good background for some of that conversation. I also have interviews with a dendrochronologist (tree ring expert!), a wildfire episode with an ex-firefighter, and an episode on nocturnal animals. So be sure to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite app to ensure you don't miss future releases.
FULL SHOW NOTES
Links To Topics Discussed
Daniel Swain - Weather West, YouTube Office Hours
Jet Steam Basics
Jet Stream Alignment in ENSO Scenarios
National Weather Service CPC ENSO Report (PDF)
Rossby WavesSupport Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
Subscribe to the Jumpstart Nature Podcast!
I started Nature’s Archive podcast in an effort to understand the stories of people making a difference for the environment. I needed to be inspired, wanted to learn how they did it, and share that inspiration and knowledge with anyone willing to listen.
While we haven’t strayed too far from those initial aspirations, I do have many more topic-centric episodes than I did at the start.So today’s episode is a “back to my roots” episode. My guest is Leslie Inman, the founder of the wildly popular Pollinator Friendly Yards group on Facebook. With 184,000 members, it is perhaps the top spot for people to discuss sustainable personal landscaping. And even if you are not on Facebook, it’s pretty likely you’ve seen her images and infographics.
Leslie’s story is an amazing example of how a little curiosity can be converted into a hugely impactful movement. Today, we discuss not only how the group formed, but the lessons that she has learned along the way. This includes how to “reach” people who may be skeptical about inviting insects to their yards, how to make it easy to get started, and more.
Oh, and Leslie also has two books - Your Yard is Nature and The Butterfly Egg and the Little Tree.
Pollinator Friendly YardsDave GoulsonDoug Tallamy & Homegrown National Park (TikTok)Doug Tallamy appeared on Nature's Archive Podcast Episode #26Leslie’s Books - Your Yard is Nature and The Butterfly Egg and the Little TreeMary Reynolds, We Are The ArkNancy Lawson, The Humane Gardener [Book]Travis Longcore (light pollution ecologist)Wild Ones - Wild Ones promotes environmentally friendly, sound landscaping to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration, and establishment of native plant communities
FULL SHOW NOTES
Links To Topics DiscussedSupport Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! -
Subscribe to the Jumpstart Nature Podcast!
Ever wondered how scientists unravel the ecological mysteries of bygone eras, long before systematic record-keeping? Believe it or not, one part of the answer is in pirate journals.
And no, I'm not joking.
Today, I have the privilege of hosting Dr. Loren McClenachan, an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies and History, and a Canada Research Chair in Ocean History and Sustainability at the University of Victoria. Throughout her career, Dr. McClenachan has been delving deep into historical marine ecology, unearthing ingenious ways to examine past ecosystems.
Our focus today? The intriguing concept of shifting baseline syndrome, a topic that we've only grazed the surface of in previous Nature's Archive conversations. In 2009, Dr. McClenachan authored a pivotal paper examining the dwindling sizes of recreational trophy fish off the Florida Keys. This study unveiled what seasoned anglers had long grasped—the once-plentiful colossal fish had become elusive.
Shifting Baseline Syndrome arises when your first interaction with an environment establishes your baseline—a perceived "natural" or "normal" state. Yet, this baseline could markedly differ from your grandparents'. And here's where the surprise sets in: the implications span conservation and society alike.
Dr. McClenachan helps explain these implications through a variety of eye-opening examples. And yes, you'll even discover how pirates play a part in this narrative.
FULL SHOW NOTES
People, Papers, and Organizations
3 billion birds lost
All of Dr. McClenachan’s publications
Anecdotes and the Shifting Baseline Syndrome of Fisheries (Pauly)
Daniel Pauly’s TED Talk
Documenting Loss of Large Trophy Fish from the Florida Keys with Historical Photographs (McClenachan)
Dr. McClenachan's Website
Ecology. Globalization, roving bandits, and marine resources
University of Victoria – history website; environmental studies websiteBooks and Podcasts
Nature’s Archive #57: Allen Fish – Raptor Migration from Hawk HillSupport Us On Patreon!
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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.comDiscover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.
Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats! - Montre plus
