the green room

We’ve all been there. You’re at the beach, you’ve opened up a steaming hot bag of fish and chippies, and before you know it a hungry pack of seagulls is crowding around you watching with malicious intent. In this episode, Shannon asks the pertinent question: why is it only seagulls, and not other birds, that behave this way? We also dive into the teeny tiny world of our soil’s mesofauna, as Kiri introduces us to the world-record holder for the most amount of somersaults.

The cleaner wrasse has recently made waves by joining the exclusive club of animals that passed the mirror self-recognition (MSR) test. This humble fish—better known for playing Will Smith in Shark Tale—might actually be self-aware. But what does that really mean? Shannon dives into the world of the cleaner wrasse to uncover why it deserves a spot on the self-awareness list.

Meanwhile, we explore the fascinating world of democracy in nature. How do social animals—from honey bees to African buffalo—cast their votes and reach consensus? Kiri uncovers that animal voting systems can be a lot more orderly and equitable than you might think!

In this episode, we delve into the extraordinary evolutionary adaptions of Monarch butterflies, which travel each year in their thousands to avoid harsh winters and cuddle together on a special tree. It’s a perilous journey, and one that transcends multiple generations. It’s pretty hardcore…

But maybe not as hardcore as defecating on yourself. Yeah, you read that right. Some long-legged birds will excrete a mixture of feces and urine onto their legs, to cool themselves down in hot weather. Dive into the weird, wonderful, and sometimes gross world of animal survival tactics with us.

If Walt Disney’s “Nemo” was true to fact, we’re not sure how many kids would be watching. Clownfish have a complex social hierarchy. At the top of the ladder is a dominant female, who is larger and more aggressive than the rest. Just below her is the second-in-charge male, with whom she mates. Below that, subordinate males. All males. 

How? Clownfish are hermaphrodites. Should the Queen pass, the second in charge rises to the challenge and transforms into a female. The next male in line happily slinks up the ladder to form the breeding pair. 

Taking this to Nemo, we wouldn’t expect Marlin to tenderly take care of Nemo. Instead, Marlin would transform into a female (now his wife has died). Nemo, being the only other male present would become the second in charge. Leaving Marlin (or Marylin) and Nemo to form the breeding pair. 

Speaking of wild things, plants make noises. 

In March 2023, a study was published showing for the first time that plants create audible noise. This noise is about the same volume as our talking voice, but it is at a frequency outside of the hearing range of humans. 

Researchers showed that plants made noises more regularly when stressed, i.e., water-deprived or damaged (30-50 times per hour) vs healthy (1 time per hour). AI was able to distinguish between noises from different plants and whether they were healthy, water-deprived or damaged. 

It is not clear whether the noise is intentional or an unintentional side effect, something equivalent to a stomach rumbling when hungry. However, what is clear is that the noises hold information that could be interpreted by animals who hear within that frequency. 

This raises a suite of questions never before pondered. How have animals (or even other plants) evolved to respond to the sound of plants? What would our human lives have looked like if we, too, could hear plants? What will we do with this new knowledge?

As always, each episode is recorded live on air at the Radio Adelaide 101.5 stations on Kaurna land. 

We are asking a big question this week: How the heck do migratory birds know where they are going? Tiny robins travel thousands of kilometres over open oceans (with no landmarks), being pushed completely off track, and returning to the same nest every. single. year. On our journey to the answer of how they navigate, we take a quick trip through history and step into the mind of Aristotle.  

Speaking of the non-human world, humans are not that special. We love to try and be special and differentiate ourselves from others – “only I can use tools”, “only I can communicate”, and “only I have emotions”. This week, we break down the assumption that “only humans have culture”. We explore culture in orcas (otherwise known as killer whales or alphas of the ocean) and how their thoughts have entered their bodies. 

Whether you are an ant, frog, or elephant, you are connected by the same problem. You need to find shelter and food for your young. Despite the common problem, animals have evolved a huge array of solutions, some give birth to live young and carry them in flesh pockets while feeding the hairless babies white fluid, while others sit on growing fetuses in shells and later regurgitate in the hatched baby’s mouths. 

But the weirdest way to approach the problem (or the best, depending on your viewpoint) is parasitism. Why find a home and food for your young when you can hijack someone else’s good work? This is what parasitoid wasps are specialized in. And this is what we focus on in this episode. 

The episode mentions the Nature Festival, a bid for naming a new wasp species, and a Biological Society of South Australia quiz night. These have all past. But keep in the loop by visiting https://www.naturefestival.org.au/ and https://biologysocietysa.com/index.html. 

Join us on a journey into your inner child’s mind and ask, why do flowers smell like that? and who is that bird making that sound?

Ever wondered what life would be like if flowers didn’t smell like sugar, but smelt like death? Luring in pollinators with the promise of sweet sugary goodness is not the only way to ensure you can sexually reproduce. Pollinators can also be attracted to the smell of death and the promise of decaying flesh to lay their eggs in.

This week we turn up the curiosity dial. Hear those birds outside? Do you know who they are? The beauty of living in a technological world is that you can find out. This week we learn together who that mystery bird is singing outside of Kiri’s window.

Alpha wolves and sexual evolution Join us on a journey from a cat’s intestines to a virgin aphid that’s pregnant with another pregnant virgin aphid.

Are you an alpha, or a beta? Whether you’re risk-averse or leader of the pack may be determined by parasitic microbes that hijack your nervous system – at least in rats and wolves. We dive deep into the exciting life of Toxoplasma gondii, the little protozoan that just really wants to be inside a cat.

Why do we have sex? No, really. It’s costly, risky and incredibly time-consuming. And yet, this reproductive strategy has taken the natural world by storm. We gather clues from an aphid-infested bunch of kale to unravel the mystery of why sex rules

Come with us to the dusty arid outback, where a zebra finch mother sings a peculiar tune to her unborn offspring. Follow us onwards to a tropical island, where a gecko sips leisurely from a flower-cup of sweet, red liquid. Join us in the operating room, and meet the man who’s got the heart of a pig.

This week we whip out our scanning electron microscopes for some full-frontal footage of millipedes doing the dirty. Tune in to learn how a leg can also be a penis, why honeyeaters perform ritualistic dances, and in Liz’s own words, “where else has cool glands for good smelling stuff”.