In the final episode of season 1 of Eco Tones, Pat reunites with guest co-host Mike (Episode 5, Why Do Zebras Have Stripes?) to talk about social networks and behavioral studies of Anubis baboons in Laikipia, Kenya. With the help of Jessica Gunson, Molly McEntee, and Leah Worthington from the Uaso Ngiro Baboon Project, we learn about the day-to-day life of a baboon researcher, and the steps that they take to better understand the social dynamics of a baboon troop!

Why is that baboon scratching the other baboon? Weren't those two with different partners yesterday? Jeez, how much polyamory happens in a troop? And why are we WATCHING it?

Neither Mike nor Pat are especially skilled in any way to actually understand this topic, but we do our best to fall upwards.

Episode 7 concludes our first season of Eco Tones, but we'll be back in the fall with more episodes, new talent, and and interesting discussions!

In the meantime, check out the lab's ongoing work at www.thepalmerlab.com and www.savannaecology.com, and check out our previous episodes on iTunes and Soundcloud. Thanks to everyone who tuned in, and check us out when we return in the fall!

Music featured in this podcast:

Family Business - Kanye West

M'lover - Kishi Bashi

Things Happen - Dawes

Train in Vain - The Clash

Sit Down - James

Finish Line (feat. T. Pain, Kirk Franklin, Eryn Allen Kane & Noname) - Chance the Rapper

A bit of a throwback: this is a teaser track for the Eco Tones Podcast, Episode 1, produced by Patrick Milligan at SavannaEcology.com

Share with a friend who maybe wants to try out a new podcast! It's a little bite-sized morsel of ecology and music, nom nom :) Episode 7, to finish Season 1, will be coming soon!

Check us out on iTunes and Soundcloud, or via your favorite podcast aggregator.

Music featured:

Summer Friends (feat. Francis & the Lights and Jeremih) by Chance the Rapper

In this episode, I chat with Anne-Marie Hodge, Samantha Calkins, and Gabriella Mizell. The former two work together to study a species of cactus that has been recently introduced to the Laikipia Plateau of Kenya, while Gabby studies various aspects of an ant-plant partnership that helps to shape the savanna. We talk about what it's like to miss out on American cultural trends, strange phenomena around the savanna, and the beauty of the Swahili language.

Check out Anne-Marie's work here (jakegoheen.com/index.php/research-group/item/anne-marie-hodge.html?category_id=1) and here (https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/expeditions/laikipia-plateau-mesopredators-in-kenya/)

Check out Gabby's work with the Palmer lab at UF here (thepalmerlab.com) and here (savannaecology.com)

Songs featured in this podcast:

Hold Up - Beyoncé

Work (From Home) (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) - Fifth Harmony

Last Night I Heard Everything in Slow Motion - Oliver Tank

Recommendation - Mirah

Snowday - Yoke Lore

Family Matters (cover) - Chance the Rapper (with The Social Experiment)

Fake You Out - Twentyone Pilots

Freedom (feat. Kendrick Lamar)

Pat and (special guest co-host) Mike chat a bit about the age-old question: "Why do zebras have stripes?"

But we're a bunch of dumb-dumbs, so we ask two wonderful zebra experts (Kaia Tombak, Princeton University & Emily Nonnamaker, Tulane University) to help us understand what evolutionary factors led to the beautiful striped grazer.

Music featured on this podcast:

Silk by Wolf Alice

Come Down by Anderson .Paak

Molly (feat. Brandon Urie) by Lil Dicky

Wheels Fall Off (feat. Scarlet Parke) by The Good Husbands

Friends (feat. Bon Iver) by Francis & The Lights

Summer Friends (feat. Francis & The Lights and Jeremih) by Chance the Rapper

Episode 4 of Eco Tones! Join Danielle Martin and Doug Branch as they talk about doin' science in the field, animals that we saw on a night game drive, and how to imitate wildlife noises! Doug is a British dreamboat and Danielle is a smack-talking (former) Princeton in Africa Fellow, and together they make for a stellar pair of interviewees.

Like and Subscribe - you know you want to!

Stay human out there. Love burns far brighter and longer than hate, but it must be shared with others if we are to move past a sense of Other.

Featured music in this episode:

Cash Machine - Big Baby D.R.A.M.

[contributions by Doug and Danielle from the Kenyan hiphop scene]

Chop my Money - P-Square ft. Akon & May D

Queen's Speech - Lady Leshurr

[contributions by Doug and Danielle from the Kenyan hiphop scene]

and finally, a song meant to help others:

Wonderful Everyday: Arthur by Chance the Rapper, ft. The Social Experiment

This week we finish up our interview with Loren Cassin Sackett and Nic Kooyers, two early career scientists who checked out Laikipia, Kenya for a fortnight, in search of adventure and research ideas. More vehicle stories, some discussions of why collaboration is important in science, and of course, spirit animals.

To check out the National Geographic Voices blog that ate up all of my time (thus pushing this podcast back a week), click here: http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/2016/09/13/tiny-ants-may-pose-a-big-threat-for-diversity-in-laikipia/

This week's music selection features:

Holy Water by Taking Back Sunday(https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/tidal-wave/id1120383424)

Mr November by The National (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/alligator/id1028833836)

-and-

Unsatisfied by The Replacements (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/let-it-be/id162563989)

Check out part 1 of our interview with Loren Cassin Sackett and Nic Kooyers, two awesome researchers who were hanging out with Adam Ferguson at Mpala Research Centre.

To learn more about Loren's work, you can follow her really active Twitter profile at twitter.com/LorenCSackett. Nic's research is collected in his personal website, found here: sites.google.com/site/nkooyers/

If you dig the music in this podcast, check it out here on iTunes, or purchase it through your music service of choice. Support those starving musicians!

I Am A Nightmare - Brand New

Missed the Boat - Modest Mouse

Montana - Youth Lagoon

In May 2016, I interviewed Bethann Garramon Merkle and Jerod Merkle, and asked them about their experiences on their first trip to East Africa. While the focus of this podcast is Bethann's research into the "ecologically true" story of the tortoise and the hare, we also discuss vehicle mishaps, animal sightings, and what it's like to live in the bush.

Check out more of Bethann's work at commnatural.com, or follow her on twitter.com/commnatural. You can learn more about Jared's work by following his research at jamerkleresearch.wordpress.com, and by reading his publications on ResearchGate.

This podcast's featured songs are "The Mighty Rio Grande" by This Will Destroy You, and "Ryderz" by Hudson Mohawke. Links at the bottom of this description will lead to the iTunes page for each artist.

Please follow our operation on twitter.com/savannaecology, or like our Facebook page fb.com/UFinKenya, both of which will also include updates and blog posts from our University of Florida undergraduates and from other researchers at Mpala Research Centre.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/this-will-destroy-you/id156895409

https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/hudson-mohawke/id251161309