In this episode of Backyard Geology, Serena takes you to the Galapagos Islands. Here, helium isotopes and the observations of Charles Darwin tell the tales of evolution, both in terms of geology and ecology respectively. As an isolated group of ocean islands, the Galapagos became the perfect place to observe the fine details of evolution. […]

BYG International Pilgrimage Ep. 4 – The Galapagos Islands: A Petri Dish for Evolution

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For our final episode of season 1 we go into detail on how the two of us met, how we got into paleontology, and the various twists and turns that have made up our two careers. CW: Cursing. Yep, that’s all this time – we were surprised too!

Becoming Paleontologists

From dinosaurs to rhinos to bugs, things used to get a whole lot bigger than they seem to today. In this episode we talk all about evolutionary constraints, the narrow set of bumper bars enforced on us by biology. CW: Body fluids. Using the term bug incorrectly (sorry entomologists). Cursing.

Thick Thighs and Body Size

…and then some. From the eggs of the platypus to the eggs of dinosaurs, we’ll talk about how eggs are formed, why humans don’t lay them, and of course, why the egg definitely came before the chicken. CW: Placentas and afterbirth, body fluids, cursing

Everything You Wanted To Know About Eggs

It’s time to be more afraid of seals, everyone. And hyenas. And tigers. And… birds? And big crocodiles. Really, the deeper you go into human history, the longer that list of fears gets – and on this episode, we go real, real deep.  CW: death, dead bodies, being hunted, cannibalism.

Everything That Ate Our Ancestors

Trace fossils are an incredible resource to understand behavior… even behavior those animals wish maybe there wasn’t a record of. From the results of terrible food poisoning to the fossil equivalent of a xeroxed buttocks, trace fossils record some animals’ most humiliating moments. CW: Everything in the title, cursing, stomach stones (bezoars)

BYG International Pilgrimage Ep. 4 – The Galapagos Islands: A Petri Dish for Evolution

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