Naturally Speaking

“Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by sixty-five million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?” –Alan Grant

Jurassic Park was released more than 20 years ago at a time when the idea of de-extinction was just taking off. It’s been a month since Jurassic World was released on DVD, and we thought it was time to dig up this episode of Naturally Speaking. In this episode, a group of select taxonomists, geneticists, and ecologists Rod Page, Barbara Mable, Kirstyn Brunker, Julie Nati, James Buckley, Darryl McLennan, and Shaun Killen, join us to pick apart the science of this island theme park populated by dinosaurs created from prehistoric DNA.

Episode 13 – The Science of Jurassic Park

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Naturally Speaking editor James Burgon has recently written articles on both the science of de-extinction (pg8-10) and the ethics of de-extinction, for a more contemporary take on the field make sure to check them out.

(Feature image of a T-Rex at Universal Studios “Jurassic Park”. Scott Kinmartin [CC BY 2.0], via Flickr.)

Humans have a complex relationship and checkered history with elephants. Once the revered subjects of myths and legends, elephants have increasingly become the objects of economic greed and the victims of habitat loss.

Episode 32 – Nature’s Greatest Masterpiece-An interview with Phyllis Lee

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In this episode of Naturally Speaking Shorts, Laurie Baker (@llbaker1707) is joined by elephant researcher, Prof. Phyllis Lee, Director of Science for the Amboseli Elephant Research Project in Kenya and Professor of Psychology at the University of Stirling. Phyllis has spent the last 35+ years studying the social relationships and life history of elephants in Amboseli, and boy do those elephants have personality!

Click to view slideshow.

Elephants form incredibly strong bonds between their family and friends, however these relationships and the resilience of the community as a whole are threatened by poaching. The long-term nature of their study has allowed Phyllis and her colleagues to begin to explore the effect of these disruptions, but the outlook isn’t good.

“They can recover quite well as long as its normal mortality… Poaching mortality is very different, it takes out too many individuals, it leaves inexperienced orphans, trying to manage relationships and finding food and water in an environment where they have no help.”

In this episode, Phyllis also takes the time to answer some of our young scientists’ burning questions including “How do elephants make such a loud noise?”, “How long can they remember?”, and “How clever are they?”

“They are quite smart about some things and really quite silly about others. Like all animals including humans, they have the capacity to remember and be smart about certain things and just not pay much attention to other things.”

Phyllis’ advice for young scientists hoping to enter this field?

“Be patient. Be persistent. Go for it. But be prepared to wait to get into it. You have to have passion, if you don’t have passion for it you will never get as far as you want to get.”

Acknowledgments: Special thanks to Katie, age 7, and Ross, age 11 for helping us with our questions this week!

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

Why do we wake up early on our days off? Or notice it is almost lunchtime after our stomachs emit a rumble of hunger? Like all living organisms we have clocks inside us—internal timing mechanisms that guide everything from fine scale molecular processes to seasonal migrations. The study of these biological clocks is called chronobiology, and at the forefront of the Institute’s research in this field is ornithologist Dr Barbara Helm (@BBirdClocks).

Barbara currently leads a diverse and collaborative team who work on a range of bird based projects— from field studies in Africa to experimental trials in Glasgow. Find out exactly what Barbara is doing in this week’s episode, as she discusses her research on “biological clocks in the real world” with Naturally Speaking’s James D. Burgon (@JamesBurgon).

Click to view slideshow.

Episode 31 – At the Helm of chronobiology

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

Have you ever wondered why trees grow in some areas but not in others? In the African savanna landscape, this pattern may be explained with a little help from the natural elements and ecological relationships. Professor Ricardo Holdo of the University of Missouri seeks to understand how different ecological forces such as competition, fire, grazing, soil composition, and climate influence the growth and distribution of tree communities in southern and eastern Africa.

Ricardo’s work uses a range of different research approaches to explore these questions, including observational data, field experiments, computer modeling with satellite imagery and remote sensing data, and ecological theory.

Tune in to find out more about this fascinating ecosystem and to hear Ricardo’s advice for young scientists entering the field!

Earth, Wind, Water, Fire… and Competition? Understanding tree community dynamics across the Savanna landscape

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

In this week’s episode we revisit the topic that we examined in our first ever episode of Naturally Speaking—the dreaded PhD viva (also known as the defence in some countries). This is the final oral examination faced by PhD students before they can be awarded their degree.

This episode features a panel discussion with Prof Neil Metcalfe, Prof Barbara Mable (@barbaramable1), Jennifer Boyle, and Shaun Killen (@shaunkillen), reflecting on some of their experiences being involved in the viva process. Among many other things, we discuss:

This provides an extremely detailed account of the viva process, which is sure to be a valuable resource for any PhD student.

Special thanks to PhD student Julie Nati (@nati_julie) for moderating the discussion. Enjoy!

Episode 29 – How to Survive Your Viva, Revisited

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Intro and outro music sampled from:

“The Curtain Rises” and “Early Riser” Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)