Naturally Speaking

In this podcast, recent Masters graduate Emma Plant interviews Jeanne Robinson, the Hunterian Museum’s curator of entomology. Tune in to hear about this fascinating collection and its origins, what it involves to take care of thousands of unique specimens, and how Jeanne came to find herself in this interesting role.

Jeanne Robinson disguised as a wasp at the Montreal insectarium, and showing off the Hunterian collections to Nicola Sturgeon.

Podcast edited by Emma Plant.

Feature image: Original artwork courtesy of Masters student Eleanor Duncan, 2021©.

Don’t forget you can subscribe to automatically receive all our latest content, or just our podcasts.

Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

Leading up to the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference, which will be held in Glasgow between October 31 and November 12, 2021, the Naturally Speaking team felt it was only fitting to highlight some of the brilliant climate change-related research going on within the Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine. In this podcast, Naturally Speaking’s Taya Forde and Joey Humble are joined by a panel of our researchers to hear about the varied studies going on within the Institute in this area. We are also joined by two of the curators from The Hunterian Museum who tell us about the special displays that will be on site over the coming months, including showcases of some of this research.

Panelists (in order of appearance)

Jeanne Robinson

Mike Rutherford

Daphne Cortese

Neil Banas

Ruedi Nager

Nick Hanley

Kim Fornace

Kevin Parsons

Lucy Gilbert

Research referred to in this podcast:

‘Physiological and behavioural and metabolic effects of anemone bleaching on symbiont anemonefish’ discussed by Daphne Cortesse

‘Spatial synchrony of breeding success in the blacklegged kittiwake‘ discussed by Ruedi Nager

‘Nature-based solutions‘ discussed by Nick Hanley

Feature images: clockwise from left, courtesy of Anne Haguenauer (clownfish), Ruedi Nager and Mike Rutherford (guillemot captured using a thermal camera) and KK_photographics [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0] via Flickr.

Don’t forget you can subscribe to automatically receive all our latest content, or just our podcasts.

Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

In our latest interview, Joey Humble and Taya Forde chat with Paul Baker – a Lecturer in Biological and Biomedical Sciences from Glasgow Caledonian University and self-described ‘twitcher’ (or ‘birdwatcher’ for those who don’t know the lingo!). In fact, Paul now works on several bird monitoring projects connected with the University of Glasgow. Tune in to learn why bird ringing is still a vital tool for modern ornithology, how this type of research can uncover larger population trends, and just how to tell your house sparrows from your tree sparrows. With both UK sparrow species now on the Red List of conservation concern, Paul also explains why, now more than ever, we need these types of research projects. So next time you’re out and about, keep your eyes peeled for one of Paul’s nest boxes or report your sightings to the British Trust for Ornithology. Listen in below to find out more!

Left: Eurasian tree sparrow. Right: house sparrow. Images courtesy of K. Bahr and Fabiano Roggio, public domain via Flickr.

For more information on bird ringing or any of the research and monitoring projects mentioned in this episode, check out the links below:

• British Trust for Ornithology (BTO): https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/ringing/about
• BTO Ringing Scheme: https://www.bto.org/how-you-can-help/report-something
• EURING: https://euring.org
• Clyde bird ringing group: https://clyderinginggroup.com/
• Reports & Publications: https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/research-reports  

Graphs courtesy of the British Trust for Ornithology and JNCC BirdTrends Report via data from the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) and Common Birds Census (CBC)

Credits 

Feature image: Alexa Roditi, 2021  

Don’t forget you can subscribe to automatically receive all our latest content, or just our podcasts. We are also available on iTunes and other podcast catchers. 

Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0] 

Ever wondered who plants the wildflowers on campus? Or how many species you might spot on a walk around Glasgow? In this episode, Naturally Speaking’s Emma Plant and Alexa Roditi interview not one, but three guests in a roundtable discussion about wildlife on campus. Agnes Berner, the biodiversity coordinator of Glasgow University’s Environmental Sustainability Team (GUEST), and Dr Lydia Bach tell us all about the different initiatives going on across the university to promote biodiversity, and how staff and students can do their own bit to help out. Dr Stewart White, Chair of the Biodiversity Working Group, also joins us to discuss why these initiatives are so important from a research perspective. It turns out there are lots of interesting creatures and critters to be found if you know where to look – check out some of the projects and links below if you want to add your own sightings to the effort and help promote biodiversity on campus.

GUEST is a team of 12 students striving to improve the sustainability of the University by focusing on 8 different aspects, including biodiversity. GUEST continually have exciting new projects which are all posted on their Facebook page, alternatively you can email Agnes for more information.

• GUEST Biodiversity Branch: https://www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/sustainability/guest/biodiversity/ 
• Agnes’ email: [email protected] 
• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/UofGGUEST 
• GUEST Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/it/podcast/uofg-guest/id1531759751 

iNaturalist is an app that can be used to record species you see when out and about. GUEST have two projects on iNaturalist which challenge you to record as many species on the University campus as possible. Projects have been set up for the separate campuses:

• Gilmorehill Campus
  
• Garscube Campus

The Species storymaps is an interactive map that tells the histories of species that can be found on campus. The interactive map is a great way to find out more about the biodiversity on campus and how it has changed over time!

The Biodiversity Working Group, chaired by Dr Stewart White, meets on a monthly basis and anyone with a passion for biodiversity is encouraged to join.

Credits 

Feature image: Original artwork courtesy of Eleni Christoforou, 2021©  

Don’t forget you can subscribe to automatically receive all our latest content, or just our podcasts. We are also available on iTunes and other podcast catchers. 

Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod[CC BY 3.0] 

Efforts to return Scotland’s land to a more natural state could be spurred on by an unlikely helper: an independent, hardy and terribly cute breed of horse, the Exmoor pony. In this podcast, Naturally Speaking’s Joey Humble interviews PhD student Debbie Davy, a guardian and advocate for the Exmoor pony, who has recently introduced a herd to Cochno farm, a University owned site close to Glasgow. Here we learn a bit about the history, ecology and genetics of this breed. Exmoor ponies are native to the UK and although in modern times they were only found in Exmoor (South-west England), it is believed by many that their kin were widespread throughout all of the UK in ancient times. Without need of horseshoes, stables or assisted foaling, Exmoor ponies truly are a feral breed which could help promote biodiversity through their love of coarse vegetation. Debbie’s PhD is funded by the Exmoor Pony Society.

Feature image courtesy of Joey Humble, 2021.

Don’t forget you can subscribe to automatically receive all our latest content, or just our podcasts. We are also available on iTunes and other podcast catchers.

Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod[CC BY 3.0]

https://naturallyspeaking.blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/plastic.mp3

Plastic seems to be everywhere. In this podcast, Naturally Speaking’s Dr Keila Meginnis, Dr Lucy Gilbert, and Eleni Christoforou, joined by Institute researcher  Rachel Francoeur, meet to discuss and explore different areas of research around plastics. The unfortunate truth is that plastic is having effects in almost every ecosystem on our planet. Tune in to this round table discussion for a chat about some of the Institute’s research around plastic, experiences of trying to go plastic free and to hear about things YOU can do to reduce your own plastic use.

Useful links:

Surfers against sewage: https://www.sas.org.uk/

UK Circular plastics network: https://www.ukcpn.co.uk/

MCS beach clean: https://www.mcsuk.org/get-active/beachcleans

Make your own toothpaste: https://www.news-medical.net/health/(How-to)-Make-Your-Own-Toothpaste.aspx

Waitrose Unpacked: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/shop/featured/groceries/unpacked

Iceland Plastic Free by 2023: https://about.iceland.co.uk/plastic-free-by-2023/

Feature image: ‘Marine litter’ by Bo Eide, Public Domain via Flickr

Don’t forget you can subscribe to automatically receive all our latest content, or just our podcasts.

Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

Economics is not something usually associated with an “Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine”. Professor Nick Hanley joined the Institute in 2017 as Chair of Environmental and One Health Economics. In this interview, Naturally Speaking’s Keila Meginnis and Lucy Gilbert speak with Nick about his research and find out how economics can be applied within an interdisciplinary research environment.

This podcast was edited by Jamie Burton.

Feature image: Original artwork courtesy of PhD researcher Eleni Christoforou, 2019©

Don’t forget you can subscribe to automatically receive all our latest content, or just our podcasts. We are also available on iTunes and other podcast catchers.

Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

The welfare of farm animals is an issue very much in the public eye. While we often think about welfare in terms of animals’ quality of life, a less-considered aspect is the quality of death. In this episode, University of Glasgow researcher Dr Dorothy McKeegan tells us about her research in this area, which aims to ensure that the slaughter of animals for human consumption is done in the very best way possible.  

During this podcast, we mention the 3Rs prize (Replacement, Reduction and Refinement of use of animals for research) of the Animal Welfare and Ethical Review Body. The winners of this prize were:

Seonagh Henderson, senior research support/animal health technician at the University of Glasgow, for her development of a sifting cage change method to improve welfare in laboratory rats. The concept was to remove the stress involved when transferring the rats to a clean cage, allowing them to be reintroduced into a ‘clean’, faeces-free cage that still retained their own scent. The results from this change in handling were fast and effective: the rats went from being nervous and difficult to handle to being more placid and naturally inquisitive. Correction: this recipient was incorrectly named in the interview.

Prof Sue Barnett & Dr Susan Lindsay for their project “The use of cultures to study the repair of the central nervous system”. This is a tissue culture system that could allow spinal cord injuries to be studied in vitro, without the requirement of animal models.

More information about the Institute’s Master’s program in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics & Law can be found in our previous Naturally Speaking podcast “Masters of Science – Time to get Ethical“.

This podcast was edited by Keila Meginnis and Taya Forde.

Feature image: Original artwork courtesy of PhD researcher Eleni Christoforou, 2019©

Don’t forget you can subscribe to automatically receive all our latest content, or just our podcasts. We are also available on iTunes and other podcast catchers.

Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]

In this episode of Naturally Speaking, Mar Pineda catches up with fellow Masters of Research (MRes) student Bugge Vick to talk about some of his field work. Bugge’s research project focused on the South American grey fox (Lycalopex griseus), recently introduced onto the Falkland Islands – a remote archipelago in the South Atlantic. In this podcast, he tells us about his experience participating in population counts, and collecting scat (faecal samples) to study the fox’s diet.

Note: The project was supported by SAERI, the South Atlantic Environmental Research Institute, and not by the South American Environmental Research Institute, as it is stated in the podcast.

This podcast was edited by Mar Pineda. 

Don’t forget you can subscribe to automatically receive all our latest content, or just our podcasts. We are also available on iTunes and other podcast catchers.

Feature image: by Bugge Vick 2019 ©

Intro and outro music sampled from: “The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod [CC BY 3.0]