More than 13,000 residents live at the Tennessee Aquarium, and because of the dedicated work of our caretaking and veterinary teams, many of them have far exceeded their species’ median life expectancy in human care.

Just like with people, advanced age brings on a host of changes to how animals experience the world around them, and this necessitates adjusting how we care for them.

In this episode, we’ll chat about how we adjust our approach to tending to our older residents.

Episode cast

• Casey Phillips, certified "old," host and senior communications specialist
• Thom Demas, vice president and chief husbandry and exhibits officer
• Dr. Christian Keller, director of animal health
• Rachel Thayer, assistant curator of fishes

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.

Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org.

Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

From leaping lemurs and 1,000+ species of orchids and hedgehog- and poison dart frog-likes, Madagascar is home to a splendiferous collection of life, the vast majority of which can be found there and nowhere else on Earth.

In this episode, we chat all things Malagasy with primatologist Dr. Tim Eppley, from his opinion on the "Is it cute or terrifying?" debate about the Aye-Aye to the titanic (and regrettably extinct) Elephant Bird. We also dive into the work of his nonprofit, Wildlife Madagascar, to preserve this island nation's rich ecology by working hand in hand with the Malagasy people to shore up their livelihoods and food security.

Dr. Eppley will be visiting the Aquarium as a guest speaker at an event on April 7. He'll discuss his work and sign copies of his book, Lemurs of Madagascar, alongside Aquarium staffers who work with Malagasy species such as Ring-tailed Lemurs and Radiated Tortoises.

For more information about this event, visit https://www.tnaqua.org/calendar

To learn more about Wildlife Madagascar, visit https://www.wildlifemadagascar.org

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, host/senior communications specialist
• Dr. Tim Eppley, primatologist and chief conservation officer for Wildlife Madagascar

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.

Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org.

Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

In the zoo and aquarium world, creating true-to-wild habitats is critically important, but simply building these miniature worlds for our residents isn’t good enough. After all, even the most beautiful home would start to feel stifling if every day inside was the same and nothing ever changed.

To keep the animals’ lives interesting and stimulating, our caretakers place immense priority on dreaming up and creating new forms of enrichment. Whether it’s a new scent, a treat delivered in a puzzling container, a “painting” session or the temporary addition of sprinklers, snow or even bubbles, these tweaks and alterations keep life interesting, encourage mental and physical exercise and reinforce natural behaviors.

In this episode, two of the Aquarium’s most enthusiastic enrichment champions about why enrichment matters, some of their favorite enrichment success stories and how they devise new ways to keep the animals on their toes, fins and claws.

Episode cast

• Casey Phillips, host and senior communications specialist
• Maggie Sipe, Ocean Journey lead animal care specialist
• Jennifer McPheeters, River Journey lead animal care specialist

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.

Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org.

Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Excitement continues to mount on our campus as we anticipate the March 7 opening of our all-new Scuttlebutt Reef gallery.

In the previous episode of the show, we took a top-level view of this exciting collection of habitats. This week, we’re zeroing in on what could be described as the gallery’s “centerpiece”: a massive, 6,000-gallon living reef exhibit.

This bustling aquatic community was designed and built fromscratch by two of our aquarists, who join us on the episode about halfway through the construction process (at the time of recording). We chat about species selection, the challenges of caring for coral and the many other steps involved in designing a reef that’s pleasant for the animals to live in and for our guests to visit.

Check out the previous, overview episode on Scuttlebutt Reef here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0XrC5hE2A3P9Rte8yxFr46?si=3bf282f7ccdc4973

Watch the first of our two-part video docu-series about theconstruction of this exhibit: https://youtu.be/6aqTBv8YMSo

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, host/senior communicationsspecialist
• Kyle McPheeters, life support systems lead aquarist
• Sarah Kate Bailey, aquarist II

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.

Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture.

It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org.

Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

[Episode cover art is of a War Coral (Favites pentagona) and was taken by Communications Content Creator II Doug Strickland.]

Although the Aquarium is constantly changing up animals inthe exhibits or building new habitats, it’s not often that we get to celebrate the opening of a brand-new gallery. With a building like ours, space is at a premium, so when we add something big, something old often has to leave to makeroom for the new and exciting addition.

In a little over two weeks, the Aquarium will cut the ribbonon Scuttlebutt Reef. This exciting new collection of exhibits is taking the place of the Boneless Beauties gallery and is the first major addition to our campus since 2023.

Scuttlebutt Reef shines a spotlight on many smaller marinespecies with highly specialized (and often misunderstood) adaptations. These oddball superpowers allow them to — among other things — glow in the dark, suction themselves to rocks, refract light, dig without any limbs and punch well above their weight class.

The new gallery opens on March 7, 2026, but in the meantime,this episode will preview the new space, explore its origins and introduce many of the species you’ll soon be able to see there.

To learn more about Scuttlebutt Reef, visit tnaqua.org/exhibit/scuttlebutt-reef/

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, host, senior communications specialist
• Sharyl Crossley, Ocean Journey lead aquarist
• Tom Demas, vice president, chief husbandry and exhibits officer
• Jeff Worley, director of exhibit services

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.
Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org.

 Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Whether you’re shoveling your way out of lake effect snow or get goosebumps and uncontrollable shivers whenever the thermometer dips below 50, winter can be a tough time of year. That’s especially true for wildlife, which can’t just keep nudging up the thermostat whenever they feel a bit of a chill.

So what tactics do animals employ to make it through this tough time of year when food resources are thin on the ground, freshwater freezes solid and just a thin layer of leaf litter is all that’s separating them from exposure to the latest bomb cyclone?

In this episode, several Aquarium experts point out the differences between hibernation, torpor and brumation, explain where bees go in the winter and how bears can manage to go months between bathroom breaks.

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, host/senior communications specialist/anti-winter rabblerouser
• Kevin Calhoon, curator of forests
• Rose Segbers, senior entomologist
• Lindsey Lewis, ambassador animal care specialist II

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.

Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org.

Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

Before the advent of photography and — obviously — videography, naturalists had no choice but to rely on their artistic skills if they wanted to preserve a visual record of their work.

Whether an impromptu sketch or a laboriously detailed drawing or painting, scientific illustrations were a vital means of sharing scientific research and observations with the public. They were also, in many cases, absolutely beautiful works in their own right.

In this episode of the show, we connect with a modern-day scientific illustrating savant, Joe Tomelleri, who is renowned the world over for this exactingly detailed depictions of freshwater fish. Using nothing but his skill, carefully preserved specimens and a set of colored pencils, he toils for dozens of hours to produce a single image that replicates identifiable characteristics down, without exaggeration, to individual scales.

To learn more about Joe's work or to purchase a print, visit his website at https://www.americanfishes.com

Watch a video documenting Joe and Dr. Bernie Kuhajda's work to study and document Mexican trout species at https://youtu.be/IgLvcImJW1I?si=12R290rrmZr3_rbu

[The drawing of a Pumpkinseed used as this episode's art is by — and used courtesy of — Joe Tomelleri.]

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, host/senior communications specialist
• Joe Tomelleri, scientific illustrator
• Dr. Bernie Kuhajda, aquatic conservation biologist

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.

Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org.

Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

While exploring the galleries of the River Journey and OceanJourney buildings, artwork might not be what you’re focusing on during a visit to the Tennessee Aquarium, but maybe you should take a beat to give it some love.

Stylized depictions of our living collection are all over campus courtesy of a pair of extremely talented and industrious graphic designers.

In this episode — the first of a two-part mini-series — we’ll explore the overlap between art and science, learn about the role our graphic designers play in achieving our mission and how they heck they translate the recognizable features of an animal like an Epaulette Shark into a stylized illustration.

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, host, senior communications specialist,certified non-artist
• Aimee Swartz, graphic designer
• Mike Shuleva, graphic designer

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.
Printed sustainably on 100%post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org.

Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

For many people, a visit to a national park is like making a pilgrimage, a chance to commune with nature in a setting of remarkable beauty and peace.

The United States is a big country, though, and even with more than 430 designated national parks, every region didn't get an equal share of the spoils. Although spectacular examples exist, such as the Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia and Everglades, only about 20% of national parks are east of the Mississippi.

If you live far from a national park and want to seek solace in nature closer to home, your best bet is probably one of the almost 10,000 state parks. These sites are distributed far more evenly throughout the country and enshrine vistas every bit as beautiful and grandiose as those in national parks. Even better, there's probably one (or several) just around the corner from wherever you happen to be listening.

In this episode, the Studio Dive Cage goes on the road to Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park about an hour west of Chattanooga. There, guests from The Tennessee Conservationist — the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks — and the park discuss the misnomer that gave Old Stone Fort its name, why the nearby Duck River is so biologically rich, the role state parks play in democratizing access to nature and the future of Tennessee state parks.

For more information about or to subscribe to The Tennessee Conservationist, visit https://www.tnconservationist.org

Learn more about Tennessee's State Parks at https://www.tnstateparks.com

Episode cast

• Casey Phillips, host/senior communications specialist/bona fide state park fan
• Whit Gardner, marketing and subscription manager (The Tennessee Conservationist)
• Keith Wimberley, park manager (Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park)

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.
Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture.

It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org.

Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

For many species, the arrival of humans to the neighborhood is usually a portent of bad things to come. The alterations we make to our environment often wreak havoc on the other animals that share those wild spaces with us.

No matter how you slice it, ours is the dominant species on the planet when it comes to shaping the world around us to suit our wants and desires. But that power also can be wielded to enact positive change, and when humans — especially an entire community of them — rally to a species' defense, their impact can be potent.

In this episode, you'll learn about one small Tennessee community's response to learning about the plight of a critically endangered minnow living on a nearby ridge. Like all good neighbors, they came together in defense of this hard luck fish, and the story of how and why that came to happen is the subject of this discussion.

Learn more about the Laurel Dace and the Aquarium's efforts to save it here: https://tnaqua.org/join-give/race-for-the-laurel-dace/

Episode Cast

• Casey Phillips, host/senior communications specialist
• Helaina Gomez, watershed conservation coordinator
• Stephania Motes, former city manager of Spring City, Tennessee

The Podcast Aquatic is made possible by support from The Tennessee Conservationist, the official magazine of Tennessee State Parks.

Printed sustainably on 100% post-consumer recycled paper with UV ink, each issue is filled with fascinating stories about Tennessee’s native species, rich history, and unique culture. It’s also your guide to exploring state parks and planning your next outdoor adventure.

Become a Tennessee Conservationist and subscribe at tnconservationist.org. 

Join other conservation enthusiasts and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.