BioScience Talks

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Paul Humphries, Associate Professor in Ecology at Charles Sturt University, in the School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences. We discussed his recently published article in BioScience, Flood Ecology, and the sometimes uneasy relationship that people have with river floods, as well as some of the ways that we might improve our understanding of them. A version of this conversation can also be found on Dr. Humpries' own podcast, Rheophilia. 

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Peter Edmunds, Professor of Biology at California State University, Northridge, where he has worked for over 30 years. He was here to discuss his recent article in BioScience's new Perspective and Insight category, entitled "Why keep monitoring coral reefs?". The article describes a now 38-year study of coral reefs in the US Virgin Islands and highlights the value of long-term ecological monitoring. 

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Mary Hagedorn of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute for a discussion about biorepositories, and specifically, a plan to place a biorepository on the Moon. Described in a recent article in BioScience, such a repository would take advantage of the Moon's naturally cold temperatures to provide safe long-term storage for cryopreserved animal tissues.

Today's episode features Dr. Bryan Pijanowski, Professor of Soundscape Ecology in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University, in Indiana. He is the author of "Principles of Soundscape Ecology: Discovering Our Sonic World," which was just released and is a definitive guide to the field of soundscape ecology, the topic of today's episode. Dr. Pijanowski is also the author of an influential BioScience article on the field. Learn more about soundscape ecology at the Center for Global Soundscapes, and be sure to check whether the IMAX film discussed in the interview is playing near you. 

Today's episode is a mostly onsite podcast from Chattanooga, Tennessee, where BioScience Talks was graciously hosted earlier this spring by the Association of Southeastern Biologists at their annual meeting. Our guests represent a broad range of exciting research and career stages. The meeting was striking in its emphasis on providing a welcoming environment for students. Learn more about ASB here (https://www.sebiologists.org), and be sure to attend a meeting. Our guests included: Amy Allen, Lee High School; Barbara Comer, Georgia Southern University; Skyler Fox, Georgia Southern University; Heather Joesting, Georgia Southern University; Chinyere Knight, Tuskegee University; Howard Neufeld, Appalachian State University; Jeremy Rentsch, Francis Marion University; Jennifer Rhode Ward, University of North Carolina Asheville; and Ashleigh Woods, Wesleyan College.

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by DeeAnn Reeder, Professor of Biology at Bucknell University and a researcher at the Smithsonian Institution. We spoke about a number of topics, including bats, disease ecology, and community outreach. Underlying that conversation was an important message about the One Health concept, which will be the subject of a forthcoming special issue of BioScience. 

Potential contributors to the One Health special issue can find more information here. 

Read Dr. Reeder's latest paper, Ecological countermeasures to prevent pathogen spillover and subsequent pandemics | Nature Communications.

For today's episode, we're joined by Catalina Munteanu, Researcher at the University of Frieberg in Germany, who has a background in geography and forest sciences. Also joining us is Volker Radeloff, Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in the SILVIS Lab, where he works on satellite imagery to look at land use. They were here to discuss the potential value of images from Cold War-era spy satellites for current ecological research and practice. 

Read their article in BioScience.

Captions are available on YouTube.

For today's episode, we're joined by Thomas Meinzen, recent Master's of Science graduate from Montana State University in Bozeman, Diane Debinski, who is a Professor and Department Head in the Department of Ecology at MSU, and Laura Burkle, a Professor also in the MSU Ecology Department. They were here to talk about the subject of their recent BioScience article, roadside verges, and in particular, the way that these habitats may prove to be a boon—or bane—for pollinating insects. 

Captions are available on YouTube.

For today's episode, we're joined by Avery Paxton, who is a Research Marine Biologist with NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Chris Taylor, Research Ecologist, also with NOAA's NCCOS, and Melanie Damour, who is a Marine Archeologist and the Environmental Studies Coordinator with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's Gulf of Mexico Region Office. They were here to discuss their recent BioScience article on "Shipwreck Ecology," and the ways in which these sites can be hotspots for biodiversity—and also for research. 

Read the article here. 

Captions can be found on YouTube. 

For today's episode, we jump back to last spring's Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Our guest is Sinlan Poo, Curator of Research at the Memphis Zoo and one of the co-organizers of the Global Women in Herpetology Project. You may remember her from a previous interview, but we recorded an extra mini-podcast to talk about the book "Women in Herpetology: 50 Stories from Around the World," which features a diverse group of authors describing their journeys to and through the world of herpetology. Proceeds from the book's sales will fund a conference scholarship for women students. 

Captions are available on YouTube.