Today's episode is really exciting and was a new experience for me - a field interview! And I couldn't have asked for a better guest than Michelle Foss, Director of Resource Stewardship at Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Fontenelle Forest is not what most people would typically think of if they envisioned Nebraska. It is 2100 acres, with a mosaic of habitats. It's largely wooded, and much of it heavily forested. It is hilly, and also includes riparian spans, flood plains and hilltop prairies when considering the Neale Woods portion of the properties.

For this episode, Michelle and I took a walk in the forest, with my goal to learn more about the ecology of this system and the stewardship that Michelle and the team at Fontenelle Forest oversee. You'll hear our footsteps, singing birds, and even evidence of the hills we were walking in the form of our occasional heavy breathing. And in a way this is like many of the nature hikes I lead, where we have a hike theme, but we give ourselves leeway to discuss and interpret fun things we happen upon along the way.

So be prepared to learn about Bur Oaks, Loess soil and the Loess Hills, American Redstarts, the natural fire regime of this more eastern North America forest, how the team is working to restore more of the natural habitats, and much more.

You can follow Fontenelle Forest on twitter, instagram, and facebook.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links To Topics Discussed
Biological "Rules" - interesting relationships seen in nature.
Fontenelle Forest Nature Search (ffnaturesearch) - excellent catalog of living things found at Fontenelle Forest
Nebraska Natural Legacy Project - map showing Nebraska's 35 unique biological landscapes

Other Nature's Archive Episodes You Might Like
If you enjoyed this episode, you might also like these:

• Today we spoke a bit about prairies and wildfire. Check out my interview with Chris Helzer, The Prairie Naturalist, to learn more about prairie management. And check my interview with Rick Halsey on wildfires in the western USA.
• Today I pointed out leafminers and plant galls. Check out my interview with Charley Eiseman where leaf miners are covered extensively, or Adam Kranz for plant galls.

Episode Ideas?
Do you have an idea for an episode or a guest? Maybe it's you? Please contact me at naturesarch

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Today's episode is a bit unique. As I mentioned in my monthly newsletter a couple months ago, I've been very impressed with a new podcast called Golden State Naturalist. I've had the pleasure of speaking with its creator, Michelle Fullner, a couple of times, and thought it would be fun to discuss her rapid success, and expose more people to her work. One of my goals with Nature's Archive was to find inspiring people charting unique ways to help the environment, and Michelle fits the bill!

And at the same time I'm at a moment of transition. I hit 50 episodes and two years of Nature's Archive over the last few months, and I'm working hard to get my new nonprofit, Jumpstart Nature, launched. I also wanted to share more about this journey with all of you, too. I hope this gives you all insight into what makes me tick, and what I have in my pipeline.

So Michelle and I agreed to interview each other about our podcasts, some of the fun, surprising, and dreadful things we've encountered, and what's next in our plans and metaphorical journeys.

If you haven't listened to Golden State Naturalist, Michelle gets out in the field with experts to discuss unique parts of California's nature. She's covered geology, giant sequoias, beavers, oak trees, and more. It's authentic, entertaining, and educational.

And the more traditional Nature's Archive episodes continue in two weeks. I have a great set of topics recorded or in the queue, ranging from forest management to raptors to slime molds. What fun!

You can find Golden State Naturalist on any podcast app, or by going to the website. Michelle is also on instagram, so be sure to check her out!

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links To Topics Discussed
California Naturalist Program information
Effie Yeaw Nature Center, Sacramento, CA [instagram]
Golden State Naturalist Podcast
Sacramento Tree Foundation

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

My guest today is Dr. Karlisa Callwood. Dr. Callwood is the director of the community conservation education and action program for the Perry Institute for Marine Science, and an expert on the coral reef fisheries of the Bahamas, and has a PhD in Ecosystem Science and Policy from the University of Miami in Florida.

Today we talk about about the coral reef systems of the Bahamas, how they function, their overall health, and a couple important species that call the reefs home - spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) and parrot fish.

In fact, Dr. Callwood's research and expertise goes well beyond these animals and their ecology, and into the social and cultural impacts of policy and fishing at the reefs. Dr. Callwood tells us how an emerging Parrotfish fishery adds new pressures to the coral ecosystem. And how the spiny lobster fishery, driven partly by few regulations for Bahamian citizens, has evolved to include new forms of fishing that are more productive for the fishers, but also put fishers in conflict with each other. And these new methods have unknown long term ecological impacts, as Dr. Callwood explains.

As you'll hear, Dr. Callwood combines ecological knowledge with building trusting relationships with the people on the islands, allowing her to deeply understand the motivations and rationale of the fishers. This understanding allows her to assess and recommend policy responses that strike a balance between reef health and the needs and motivations of the people on the islands.

You can find Dr. Callwood on twitter @Sci_in_Color and instagram @science_in_color.

It's a fascinating set of topics today - please enjoy!

FULL SHOW NOTES

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Today's guest is Dr. Brian Brown, Curator of Entomology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. A native of Toronto, Canada, Dr. Brown did his undergraduate and masters work at the University of Guelph. During the latter, under the tutelage of well known entomologist Steve Marshall, Dr. Brown took up the study of the fly family Phoridae. This is a phenomenally diverse family of extremely interesting flies that, of course, we discuss at length today.

In 1990, Dr. Brown obtained his doctorate at the University of Alberta in Canada, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Smithsonian Institution and University of Maryland. In 1993 he took up his current position in Los Angeles.

Today we discuss Dr. Brown’s work at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County - in particular, the scale and diversity of the collections, and the implications of that on the work that he does.

We pretty quickly delve into the aforementioned phorid flies. There are potentially as many as one million species of these flies, but to give you an idea of the diversity and scale of the work, only 4,500 have been described to date. Yes, you heard that right! Dr. Brown discusses the challenges of having so few people studying such an immense diversity of species, and approaches involved such as DNA barcoding.

Even among the 4500 described species, there are many amazing natural history stories that we get into, ranging from the aptly named “Coffin Fly” to ant-decapitating phorids.

We weave in and out of many fascinating subjects, from research in the Amazon canopy, to surprising discoveries in Los Angeles, to invasive ant species.

You can find Dr. Brown through the museum’s website at nhm.org, on his blog at flyobsession.net, or his Phorid fly site at phorid.net.

This discussion was full of surprises and a lot of fun, and I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links To Topics Discussed
Dan Janzen, ecologist cataloging Costa Rican biodiversity
flyobsession.net - Dr. Brown's blog
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County
The Nature Conservancy - conservation charity recommended by Dr. Brown
Phorid.net - Dr. Brown's Phorid resource
Rainforest Trust - conservation charity recommended by Dr. Brown

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

It’s mid-summer here in the northern hemisphere, and that means vacation season. So this week’s episode is a solo one, to give me a little space for my vacation.

Don’t worry, regular episodes return next time, including topics such as Caribbean coral reef systems, the incredible diversity of flies (yes, flies are more incredible than even the experts know!), raptor ecology, and eastern North American deciduous forests. And that just covers episodes in various stages of development during the month of July!

Before the main topic, be sure to check out my latest blog post that has more field guide recommendations from Cricket, Allen, and I. If you don't know what I'm talking about, listen to Episode 47 for an amazing discussion about an eclectic mix of field guides.

The main topic today is Jumpstart Nature, my new non-profit! I'm making progress, and even have a new logo. See the FULL SHOW NOTES for a preview!

Today's episode gives a few glimpses into my plans, and reveals a core element - The Ladder of Environmental Care. 

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

As cities grow further into wildlands and natural habitats, and as animals attempt to adapt to these urban environments, it is inevitable that people and wildlife will come into more contact.

My guest today, Jessica Wolff, works to help people and wildlife when these interactions occur. She is an Urban Wildlife Coordinator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. As an Urban Wildlife Coordinator, Jessica educates the public and fields calls from the public. These calls include questions about unexpected animals in people's yards and houses and reports of sick or injured wildlife in the city. And occasionally Jessica is dispatched to assess, capture, move, or otherwise help animals in distress.

Today we discuss the most common wildlife encounters that Jessica handles, ranging from coyotes, to bats, to raccoons, to fledgling birds. And this allowed us to get into some of the natural history and urban adaptations that these animals have..

Jessica also answers listener questions about bat boxes and fox burrows, and adds some insights into some of my own backyard wildlife.

I know that I'm coming away from this conversation with a better perspective on what it means to offer resources - intentionally or unintentionally - to wild animals.

You can find Jessica at jawolff93 on instagram, and the Nevada Department of Wildlife on Facebook or their website.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links To Topics Discussed
The Accidental Ecosystem, People and Wildlife in American Cities, Dr. Peter Alagona. See my podcast episode with him, too.
BatCon International Bat House Resources
Bats and Insecticides from BatCon International
How do pesticides affect bats? – A brief review of recent publications, J. M. Oliveira, A. L. F. Destro, M. B. Freitas, L. L. Oliveira - from the Brazilian Journal of Biology
Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation
Nevada Department of Wildlife
PBS "Nature" Coywolf Infographic
Smithsonian Magazine article on "Coywolves" - Coyote and Wolf hybrids in Eastern North America

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Did you know that as a group, amphibians are the most threatened vertebrates on Earth? As many as 1/3 are considered threatened.

As a result of this, my guest, Dr. Kerry Kriger, has devoted his education and career to amphibian research and protection. Dr. Kriger has a PhD in Environmental Science from Griffith University, and in 2008 founded of Save The Frogs! - the first global organization devoted to protecting amphibian populations.

As is often the case, we covered a lot of ground in today's discussion! We start with Dr. Kriger's research into the devastating Chytrid fungus and its impact on amphibians. Dr. Kriger points out that Chytridial mycosis is the worst disease in history in terms of biodiversity loss.

We take a few steps back and discuss amphibian diversity and lifecycles, the impact of hydro-periods ranging from permanent water to seasonal pools, frog dispersal and mobility, vocalizations, and more. And did you know that frogs are called gape-limited predators? Meaning, if it fits in their mouth, it's fair game. I just love that concept and term!

Dr. Kriger also discusses other treats to amphibians, including habitat loss, climate change, and the challenges with American Bullfrog importation and their spreading to non-native locations. For example, American Bullfrogs are not native to the American West, and have had a huge impact on western amphibian populations.

Dr. Kriger fills us in on a huge variety of projects, outreach, tours, and more that Save The Frogs! offers. If you want to create habitat, go on an ecotour, or simply get inspired by amphibians, check out savethefrogs.com. Dr. Kriger has personally developed many educational resources as well, and offers 28 days of free access to his deep-dive content in the Frog Academy.

You can also find Save the Frogs on instagram, facebook, twitter, youtube, Pinterest, and more!

FULL SHOW NOTES

People, Organizations, and More

Save the Frogs Day: April 28, 2023. It's an annual event!
Save the Frogs! Academy - get 28 days free access

Books and Resources

Frogs: The Thin Green Line - documentary from PBS Nature
Cosmos - by Carl Sagan. A Classic.
Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness - by Edward Abbey
On the Origin of Species - by Charles Darwin

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Warning - listen to this episode at your own risk! If you aren't careful, you may find yourself out a few hundred dollars. Why? Today we're talking field guides - the books and apps that help you identify, find and learn about all kinds of amazing creatures.

Joining me are Allen Fish, of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy as Director of the Raptor Observatory and as Associate Director of community science, and Cricket Raspet of the California Academy of Sciences.

We discuss what makes a great field guide, share some stories about our first and favorites, and start with a lively discussion of our first field guides, which transitions into all sorts of interesting guides - everything from bumblebees to fungi to plant galls to lichen to desert holes! We also discuss apps and other technology that can assist, or dare I say, replace physical field guides. That's just the start!

We didn't have time to cover everything in our stacks of favorites, so check our blog for more.

Follow Cricket on IG and iNat, and check Allen's organization, Golden Gate Raptor Observatory @goldengateraptors, or ggro.org.

LINKS - See FULL SHOW NOTES for more links
All That the Rain Promises and More: A Hip Pocket Guide to Western Mushrooms
Beached Marine Birds and Mammals of the North American West Coast
Bumblebees of North America
Crossley ID Guides
Field Guide to Desert Holes
Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States
Field Guide to Manzanitas
Horned Lizards of North America
Laws Field Guide to the Sierra Nevada
National Geographic Field Guide to Birds of North America
Natural History of Vacant Lots
Plant Galls of the Western USA
Plants of the California Desert
Sibley Field Guide to Birds
The Coasts of California
Tracks and Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates

Podcasts
Adam Kranz Plant Galls
Charley Eiseman Leafminers and more
Michael Kauffmann

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

Do you want to find more butterflies? Paul Johnson can help. Paul is a Wildlife Biologist at Pinnacles National Park, and a long time lepidopterist, or one who studies butterflies and moths. Paul also leads several North American Butterfly Association (NABA) counts in California, which is how I got connected with Paul in the first place, and a primary focus of this episode.

Today, we discuss Paul's path to wildlife biology and butterflies. Being a wildlife biologist at a National Park sounds like a dream job to me, so I also probed a bit about that, and what makes Pinnacles National Park such a unique place. As a hint, Pinnacles is named for geologically unique spires of volcanic origin.

We then turn our attention to butterflies and butterfly counts - North American Butterfly Association, or NABA, Fourth of July counts. Despite the name, these counts are held over the months of June and July.

We discuss the structure and goals of the counts and how to participate. With 450 counts across North America, and most skill levels needed, there might be an opportunity for you!

Paul also discusses butterfly behavior, which aside from being fascinating, is also helpful for finding them. This includes behaviors such as hilltopping, mudpuddling, and larval food plant associations.

You can find Paul on iNaturalist as euproserpinus (you-pro-serpinus). If you are interested in participating in a NABA count, check out naba.org for the count circles and count leaders (or this link for additional details for Northern California counts).

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links
Art Shapiro
Jerry Powell
Liam O'Brien - (instagram)
Xerces Society
Handbook for Butterfly Watchers - Robert Michael Pyle
The Butterflies of North America - A Natural History and Field Guide - James Scott
Checklist of Butterflies at Pinnacles National Park

Related Podcast Episodes
#28 - Milkweeds - Dr. Carrie Olson-Manning and Sydney Kreutzmann
#30 - Dr. Jaret Daniels Butterflies, Creating Habitat in Overlooked Landscapes, Creative Outreach
#37 - Dr. Stuart Weiss – Checkerspots, Cars, and Cows

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

My guest today is Siena Mckim. Siena is a PhD student at UC Santa Barbara studying sponges in the kelp forest, which is arguably one of the most iconic marine communities. In particular, she's looking at sponge symbionts - basically, the tiny marine organisms that use sponges as a habitat.

Today we hear about Siena's unique path to marine biology, developed in part from an unlikely interest in algae while at the University of Michigan, and accelerated by a love of SCUBA diving.

We then quickly transition to the wild diversity of sponges, including glass sponges the size of a minivan, to sponges that sneeze, and even carnivorous sponges! As mentioned, Siena is looking at sponge symbionts, so we discuss that research and some of the discoveries and mysteries that she is tracking.

Siena shares tons of fun facts in this episode, too. For example, I had to ask a cliché SpongeBob SquarePants question that might also be on your minds, but I was surprised at the answer! I'll just say that you'll have to listen to find out the reality of sponge fashion choices. And PLEASE read on below to see photos of some of these amazing creatures!

And of course, Siena offers tips for locating sponges yourself, whether on docks, in tidepools, snorkeling, SCUBA diving, or even in freshwater.

This interview was a lot of fun, and Siena's enthusiasm really shows. You can find Siena on Instagram as imlichentoday, and on iNaturalist with the same handle.

See the FULL SHOW NOTES for photos of many of the subjects discussed today!

Links To Topics Discussed
People and Organizations
George Matsumoto - MBARI researcher
Tom Turner's Lab at UCSB - and Tom on iNaturalist
Ologies episode w/ Cal Academy of Sciences' Rich Mooi about Echinology (Michael mentioned this episode during the interview)
Dockfouling w/ Cricket Raspett - past Nature's Archive episode with all of the ins and outs of finding cool marine creatures on docks.

Books and Videos
EVNautilus - YouTube channel that Siena recommends
MBARI - The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute has an amazing YouTube channel - and look for them on social media, too!
YouTube Video of sponges filtering dye - Jonathan Bird's Blue World

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Rae Wynn-Grant, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!