Animalia

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.

How did the skunk get its smell, and why are so many stinky and spiny mammals black and white? In this episode, we chat with Dr Ted Stankowich about how animal defences evolve, the price animals pay for having them, and how he studies skunks without getting sprayed.

Giraffe audio from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx8XtPBOGlU

Read more about Ted’s research here: http://www.csulb.edu/biological-sciences/mammal-lab

Where have we been, and how have we been sleeping? In this short update, David reveals his first solo birding achievement (making Farley proud) and Annie describes the weird sleep patterns of arctic animals. We also provide some clues about our next major episode.

Animalia goes into the "wild" to search for the rarest bird in Australia: the Tufted Duck. Along the way we discuss birding culture, what a "twitcher" is, and spot many, many birds... but do we find the Tufted Duck?

Episode features news segments from The Project.

We now have a Patreon! If you'd like to help support us, please find us at https://www.patreon.com/animalia

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/

Swans are icons of love and fidelity, but what are their relationships actually like? And does the Queen really own them all? In this short episode, Annie presents a swan-themed Q&A. (With a brief introduction of our recent travels across four continents)

Read more about Annie’s research here: http://www.lateralmag.com/columns/ethograms/swans-by-streetlight

What can a mantis shrimp see, and why does a chameleon need to change colour? In this episode, Dr Devi Stuart-Fox shares some surprising facts about animal vision - and about the tricks animals use to hide in plain sight.

Read more about Devi's research here: https://devistuartfox.com/

In this episode, Annie and Farley are joined by Izzy Taylor for a three-way debate on whose home country has the "best" animal. Australia versus America versus England, who will win?

To check out some of Izzy's work, see this amazing video she made about the humble bumblebee https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYkxYQ1d0NE

Want to learn more? You can read more about Dr Therésa Jones’ research here: https://urbanlightlab.com/research

In this short episode, Farley and Annie chat about chilly echidnas, accents and penis fencing.