The Women in Ecology and Evolution Podcast

We're back for a short special this January - I talk to Dr Cassandra Raby about a paper she led evaluating the first Animal Behaviour Twitter conference back in 2021. What perfect timing to discuss this, as the Animal Behaviour Society/Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour joint Twitter conference is running again this week! (18th-19th Jan) So, consider this a perfect pairing if you are planning to check out that completely free and totally online conference ! Or, if you're listening in *the future* and already followed the conference, consider having a listen to hear more in depth what the metrics say about the value and impact of this sort of conference.

I'll be back to regular programming soon, so stay tuned for more great science in 2023!

• Cass' paper: An inclusive venue to discuss behavioural biology research: the first global Animal Behaviour Twitter Conference
• Cass on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cassie_Raby
• Follow the ABS/ASAB conference using #AnimBehav2023 on Twitter. Full program available here.

As always, your host is Dr Kirsty MacLeod; find me on Twitter/Insta @the_wee_podcast

In this episode I'm talking to Professor Nokwanda (Nox) Makunga about her fascinating research on medicinal plants and indigenous knowledge in the Cape region of South Africa. Today's paper in focus comes from Elisa Fernández Fueyo - an insightful comparative study looking at behaviour after infant loss in primates (content warning: if infant loss is a topic you'd rather skip, after my conversation with Nox, skip to 26:00). Lastly, I'm joined by two of the authors of a new study showing how colonial history and its effect on global economics influences our understanding of biodiversity through the fossil record - fascinating stuff! That's with returning guest Nussaïbah Raja Schoob, and Dr Devapriya Chattopadhyay.
Remember that I've dropped the dedicated email address - you can still contact me via the socials @the_wee_podcast.

Links and resources:

• Twitter handles: @noxthelion @elisaffueyo @mauritiantales @Devapriya_Chat
• Paper: Colonial history and global economics distort our understanding of deep-time biodiversity
• Paper in Focus: Why do some primate mothers carry their infant's corpse? A cross-species comparative study

Happy midsummer! Bringing you a cheerful episode - honest! - even though we broach a tough topic that we're all familiar with: rejection with a capital R. It seems like an unavoidable part of the academic and scientific life (and beyond), so I brought together a great group to talk through how we deal with it when it inevitably comes. My main guest today is Dr Elizabeth Carlen - as well as rejection, we talked about her work on urbanisation ecology! The two amazing guests joining Liz and I in the discussion are Dr Megan Petersdorf and Alexus Roberts. And the paper in focus this episode is such a cool one: everything you ever wanted to know about sperm morphology with Dr Ariel Karl (and possibly a little bit more 😂). Please note I'm dropping the dedicated email address at the end of this month! You can still contact me via the socials @the_wee_podcast.

Links and resources:

• Le Twitter handles: @E_Carlen @meganpetersdorf @Alexuss_Symone @arielkahrl
• Database of Sperm Morphology: https://spermtree.org
• Paper in Focus: Fertilization mode drives sperm length evolution across the animal tree of life. 

Welcome back folks! My guest today is Dr Kate Laskowski, a behavioural ecologist and Amazon molly enthusiast - you will be the same once you've listened to our conversation about her research on individual differences in behaviour, and their consequences in ecology and evolution! We're joined by Dr Rebekah Oomen and Dr Hollie Marshall, who you'll recognise from S1 (always a pleasure!), to talk about open science - what it means to us, and how and why we practise it. The Paper in Focus this episode is from Dr Kristin Barker, on lost migrations.

Paper in Focus: Toward a new framework for restoring lost wildlife migrations

Links and Resources:

• British Ecological Society guide to producing reproducible code
• Paper feat Rebekah, "Preprinting is positively associated with early career researcher status in ecology and evolution"
• Twitter handles: @kristinjbarker, @KateLaskowski, @rebekahoomen, @MooHoll

Get in touch with me! Kirsty MacLeod, hello[at]theweepodcast.org

This month we are celebrating the 10th annual March Mammal Madness tournament! This fantastic and super fun initiative is a model for great science communication - and it was great to talk with founder Dr Katie Hinde and longtime participant Dr Alyson Brokaw about the history of the tournament and what makes it so special. Katie and I also talked about her other research projects - and we also have a great Paper in Focus this episode! Soil microbes and heavy metal accumulation in plants - fascinating stuff from Dr Priyanka Kushwaha. Link below!

Paper in Focus: Soil microbial community and abiotic soil properties influence Zn and Cd hyperaccumulation differently in Arabidopsis halleri

Links and resources:

• Everything you'll need to play March Mammal Madness! Follow hashtag #2022MMM and @2022MMMletsgo on Twitter
• E Life article by Katie, Alyson et al about narrative in scicomm
• Alyson's website
• Katie's website and blog

Get in touch with me! Kirsty MacLeod, hello[at]theweepodcast.org

The Women in Ecology and Evolution Podcast is back for season 2! Kicking off 2022 (belatedly) with a super fun episode, so strap in for more great guests and conversations about science and academia, and beyond. My guest today is Sneha Dharwadkar, a wildlife biologist and herpetologist from India, and currently a PhD candidate - we talk about her journey into research, parachute science, and starting a PhD in your thirties, and during a pandemic. We're joined by Lucy Harding and Dagmar der Weduwen to recap the highs and lows of 2021 with the Rant and Rave Wheel! The first Paper in Focus of the year is from Kelly Wuthrich, on facultative crypsis in a lizard.

Paper in Focus: Rapid body color change provides lizards with facultative crypsis in the eyes of their avian predators

Links and Resources:

• Sneha's article on Women in Herpetology (with S1E2 guest Dr Ashwini Mohan)
• Freshwater Turtles and Tortoises of India organisation
• Science and Sorcery on Twitch
• Twitter handles: @herpomania, @luce_harding, @DJWeduwen, @KellyLWuthrich

Get in touch with me! Kirsty MacLeod, hello[at]theweepodcast.org

A whole year and 15 episodes later... what a ride for the first season of the Women in Ecology and Evolution Podcast. Thanks for listening! More great stuff for you today. Dr Kristal Cain from the University of Auckland talks to me about her research and why it's important to test things we assume to be true! We're joined by Dr Dareen Almojil, a molecular ecology postdoc based at NYU Abu Dhabi, and Tara-Lyn Camilleri Carter, an evolutionary ecology PhD student at Monash University, to talk about how we've coped with the last year in academia. IT'S BEEN WEIRD. Another great Paper in Focus this episode - Dr Emily Roycroft tells me about using museum specimens to learn more about extinctions in Australia. And a sneaky special feature this episode! Ally McGee, an undergrad at the University of Scranton, tells me about her app designed to track balloon pollution. Download it and contribute to her project! Link below - as well as everything else we've discussed this episode.

I'll be taking a brief hiatus to enjoy a belated late summer break, and a honeymoon! I'll be back later in the year with more great guests and features.  As always, this episode has been hosted by me, Kirsty MacLeod. Drop me a line anytime: hello[at]theweepodcast.org

Links and info:

• Kristal's lab webpage
• Dareen's webpage
• Tara's webpage
• Muthalath - platform connecting scientists in the Arabian peninsula
• Graduate Women Victoria - Serving and Empowering Women through Education and Advocacy
• Paper in Focus: Museum genomics reveals the rapid decline and extinction of Australian rodents since European settlement
• all the links you'll need to download and use the F.L.O.A.T. app, or send in balloon sightings via social media/email! App; Facebook;  Twitter; email [email protected]
• You can find out more about F.L.O.A.T. founder Ally McGee on Twitter!

It's a treat to be joined today by Sarah Fowler OBE to talk about her work with Sharks Trust UK and the Save our Seas Foundation, as well as her new book, a beautiful illustrated guide to Sharks of the World, out now from Princeton University Press! Link below. Next, Dr Annette Fayet talks me through the Paper in Focus - what's driving foraging and breeding success of Atlantic Puffins? Listen and find out! Lastly, it's great to welcome Dr Carly Anne York back to the pod - we chat with Myrna Barjau Perez Milicua and Nussaïbah Raja Schoob about the pressure and judgement women in research face when they dress up... OR down!

Hosted, as always, by me, Kirsty MacLeod.
Drop me a line anytime: hello[at]theweepodcast.org

Paper in Focus: Local prey shortages drive foraging costs and breeding success in a declining seabird, the Atlantic puffin

Links & Resources

• Sharks of the World - new illustrated guide (it's brilliant!)
• Save our Seas Foundation (check out their grants page - lots of opportunities for funding research projects)
• Sharks Trust UK
• European Elasmobranch Association
• Nussaïbah's preprint: "Publication pressure threatens the integrity of paleontological research"
• Great article in THE: Clothes do not make the woman: what female academics wear is subject to constant scrutiny

We're taking your questions this month! Dr Hannah Rowland, Sam Helle, Anjana Parandhaman and I tackle all your  burning issues, from finding funding, to advocating for credit on publications, to dating in science. There's plenty of research here too - Hannah and I talk about her past and current research, and this episode's Paper in Focus takes us to the deep sea to explore the effects of sediment disturbance, by Danielle de Jonge and Tanja Stratmann.

Paper in focus: Abyssal food-web model indicates faunal carbon flow recovery and impaired microbial loop 26 years after a sediment disturbance experiment

Links and resources:

• Beepcast - the Behavioural Ecology and Evolution Podcast
• iAtlantic Project: Health of Deep Sea and Open Ocean Ecosystems

In today's episode my guests and I explore the close links between art and science in our professional and personal lives! Amy Cheu is my main guest today - she is a scientific illustrator and PhD student researching reptile biomechanics. We are joined by Dr Beth Reinke and Dr Emily Doolittle to discuss our interdisciplinary work, and the creative process in art and science. Enjoy!

Paper in Focus: Regional Comparison of Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) Diet using DNA Metabarcoding by Charlotte Hacker

Links and resources:

• Artificial Outlook - art installation and website in Chicago by Beth Reinke and Katelyn Patton
• Art-making in the Anthropocene: concert link, talks available on request
• Emily's suggested listening! Hollis Taylor - Carola Bauckholt - François-Bernard Mâche
• Emily's music on Spotify