https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1190816.rss Summary Have you ever watched Planet Earth and wondered how they get that amazing footage of elusive and wild animals? Get ready to learn about that and much more. Wildlife photographer Jake Davis shares his incredible journey from a 10-year-old with a disposable camera to capturing stunning footage for Planet Earth. Jake dives into the challenges and triumphs of filming elusive snow leopards in the Gobi Desert, including the technical intricacies of setting up camera traps. He also recounts dramatic encounters with Alaskan brown bears and the unique e ..read more

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1190816.rss Summary Have you seen all of the scary headlines about massive venomous Joro spiders invading the eastern USA? Well, as you might imagine, these headlines are designed to drive clicks so that individuals and media can monetize their content. Dr. Sarah Rose helps set the record straight, and also answers some questions about spider mating rituals, which turn out to be complex and fascinating! Dr. Sarah Rose with a Whipscorpion, photo courtesy Sarah Rose And after that short Q&A, we play the full interview with Dr. Rose from Episode 58. Here is ..read more

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1190816.rss Summary The ocean’s surface is a bit like the cover of a book. We have a title – the ocean – which gives us a hint about what it is. And we probably have some preconceived ideas about it based on the cover graphics or author. Tristin Anoush McHugh, Kelp Project Director at The Nature Conservancy in California But we can’t see inside to truly understand the stories it wants to tell.  One of those stories is about a forest – yes, an underwater forest that serves multiple critical purposes for life on earth. I’m talking about kelp forests, which gener ..read more

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1190816.rss Summary 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. Dr. Emily Taylor 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 physio ..read more

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1190816.rss Summary 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”. Dr. Chris Simon, photo courtesy Dr. Simon 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 exactl ..read more

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1190816.rss Note: it sometimes takes WordPress a few hours to update the podcast player to the latest episode. Apologies for the delay. You can, however, hear the latest episode on all the usual podcast players, even if the link above is still showing the previous episode. Summary 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 e ..read more

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1190816.rss Summary 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.  Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant, photo by Celeste Sloman 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 ..read more

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1190816.rss Summary 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. Dr. Joseph Wilson (image courtesy Dr. Wilson) What’s more, these wasps have quite the reputation and an amazing natur ..read more

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1190816.rss Summary 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. Dr. Lucy Kerhoulas, image courtesy Dr. Kerhoulas Today’s guest, Dr. Lucy Kerhoulas, is an Associate Professor of Forest Ecophysiology at Cal-Poly Humboldt. She specializes in ..read more

https://feeds.buzzsprout.com/1190816.rss Summary 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. Allasandra Valdez at work (photo courtesy Allasandra Valdez) Today’s wide-ranging discussion touches on everything from studying plants’ response to climate change through looking at carbon 13 isotopes, to inv ..read more