The Animal Behavior Podcast
The Animal Behavior Podcast
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Casual conversations between hosts (Matthew & Amy) and leading researchers in the field of animal behavior, merging science and stories. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
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2 days ago
S3 E9 (¡En Español!) Ximena Bernal sobre animales espías y bilingüismo en la ciencia
En esta conversación, Matthew habla con Dr. Ximena Bernal, profesora de biología en la Universidad Purdue. Hablan de la investigación de Ximena sobre espías en el sistema de comunicación de la rana túngara.
Después del descanso, hablan sobre el viaje de Ximena como hablante nativa de español trabajando como científica en un campo cuyo idioma principal es el inglés y sus esfuerzos para aumentar la comunicación entre los científicos del comportamiento animal que hablan diferentes idiomas.
Artículos relevantes para el programa de esta semana:
Bernal, X. E., Rand, A. S., & Ryan, M. J. (2006). Acoustic preferences and localization performance of blood-sucking flies (Corethrella Coquillett) to túngara frog calls. Behavioral Ecology, 17(5), 709-715.
Bernal, X. E., Page, R. A., Rand, A. S., & Ryan, M. J. (2007). Cues for eavesdroppers: do frog calls indicate prey density and quality?. The American Naturalist, 169 (3), 409-415.
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2 days ago
S3 E9 Ximena Bernal on Eavesdropping Animals and Bilingualism in Science
In this conversation, Matthew speaks with Dr. Ximena Bernal, professor of biological sciences at Purdue University. They discuss Ximena's research into spies in the túngara frog communication system. After the break, they talk about Ximena's journey as a native Spanish speaker working as a scientist in a field whose primary language is English and her efforts to increased communication between animal behavior scientists who speak different languages.
This week's Two-Minute Takeaway comes from Dr. Brian Leavell, a recent PhD graduate from Ximena's lab. Brian is now a postdoc at Boise State University. Learn more about Brian's work here, and follow him on Twitter.
Articles relevant to this week's show:
Bernal, X. E., Rand, A. S., & Ryan, M. J. (2006). Acoustic preferences and localization performance of blood-sucking flies (Corethrella Coquillett) to túngara frog calls. Behavioral Ecology, 17(5), 709-715.
Bernal, X. E., Page, R. A., Rand, A. S., & Ryan, M. J. (2007). Cues for eavesdroppers: do frog calls indicate prey density and quality?. The American Naturalist, 169 (3), 409-415.
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Sep 11, 2023
S3E8 Maren Vitousek on Stress in Tree Swallows and Motherhood in Academia
In this week's episode, Maren Vitousek joins the show to talk about stress and her work in tree swallows. She starts by describing what stress is and what it is not. Matthew and Maren talk about the development of the stress response and its long-term implications. Then Maren's talk about the tree swallow project that she co-directs and what her lab has learned from studying stress in these animals.
After the break, they talk about Maren's experience as a mother of three in academia. Maren describes her experience becoming a mother at three different career stages, the costs that mothers pay in academia, and what cultural and policy changes can be made to make academia more parent-friendly.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway *comes from Mary Woodruff (@MaryJWoodruff), a PhD Candidate in the Rosvall Lab at Indiana University. She uses behavior and physiology to understand how wild birds are coping with climate change. Learn more about Mary’s work here.
Del Giudice, M., Buck, C. L., Chaby, L. E., Gormally, B. M., Taff, C. C., Thawley, C. J., ... & Wada, H. (2018). *What is stress? A systems perspective. *Integrative and Comparative Biology, 58(6), 1019-1032. https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/58/6/1019/5094765
*Credits: *The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by a team of animal behavior researchers and audio professionals. Come meet us here! We receive production support from the Cornell Broadcast studio directed by Bert Odom-Reed, and financial support from the Animal Behavior Society.
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Aug 28, 2023
S3E7 Jenny Tung on Synergy Between Molecular Biology and Behavior
This week Matthew speaks with Jenny Tung, McArthur fellow and the director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
They start out by discussing the mutual benefits that molecular biologists and behavioral ecologists can gain from bringing their methods and frameworks together. They discuss two examples of the power of that synergy from Jenny's work as a co-director of the Amboseli Baboon Research Project: (1) unraveling the hybridization history of the population and the behavioral impacts of hybrid ancestry and (2) measuring "biological" age and its predictors. They close by discussing Jenny's new role as director of MPI for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Papers Relevant to this Week's episode:
Hybridization in the Amboseli population:
Vilgalys, T. P., Fogel, A. S., Anderson, J. A., Mututua, R. S., Warutere, J. K., Siodi, I. L. I., ... & Tung, J. (2022). Selection against admixture and gene regulatory divergence in a long-term primate field study. Science, 377(6606), 635-641.
Biological aging in baboons:
Anderson, J. A., Johnston, R. A., Lea, A. J., Campos, F. A., Voyles, T. N., Akinyi, M. Y., ... & Tung, J. (2021). High social status males experience accelerated epigenetic aging in wild baboons. Elife, 10, e66128.
*Credits: *The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by a team of animal behavior researchers and audio professionals. Come meet us here! We receive production support from the Cornell Broadcast studio directed by Bert Odom-Reed, and financial support from the Animal Behavior Society.
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Aug 14, 2023
S3E6: Tim Clutton-Brock on Cooperative Breeding and an Academic Life
In this episode, Matthew travels to South Africa to talk with legendary zoologist and behavioral ecologist, Tim Clutton-Brock. They discuss how Tim came to study meerkats and the logistical benefits of meerkats as a study system. Then they dig in to cooperative breeding and its implications for evolution. In the second half of the show, they discuss Tim's 50+ year career, how he has seen the field of animal behavior change, and where he thinks it should be headed.
*Two-Minute Takeaway: *Marina Watowich is a postdoc at Vanderbilt University. Check out her paper on the impacts of hurricane Maria on aging in the Cayo Santiago macaques here.
*Credits: *The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by a team of animal behavior researchers and audio professionals. Come meet us here! We receive production support from the Cornell Broadcast studio directed by Bert Odom-Reed, and financial support from the Animal Behavior Society.
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Jul 31, 2023
S3E5: Robert Seyfarth on What Monkeys Know and an AMA
In this episode, Matthew speaks with Robert Seyfarth, professor emeritus in the psychology department at the University of Pennsylvania. In the first half of the show, they discuss in detail some of the foundational playback experiments that Robert performed in partnership with his late wife Dorothy Cheney. These legendary experiments revealed fundamental discoveries about the kind of social knowledge monkeys have about the groups in which they live.
In the second half of the show, they follow an "Ask Me Anything" style interview that covers a wide range, from building a family and field site with your closest collaborator and friend to questions of animal emotion and pre-linguistic, symbolic thought and communication.
This week's two-minute takeaway comes from Arielle Fogel (Twitter @afogel29), a postdoc in Andy Clark's lab at Cornell University. See the paper that Arielle describes in Animal Behaviour here.
Most relevant books discussed in today's show:
How Monkeys See the World (Amazon link) by Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth
Baboon Metaphysics (Amazon link) by Dorothy Cheney and Robert Seyfarth
Wild Life: Dispatches from a Childhood of Baboons and Button-Downs (Amazon link) by Keena Roberts
*Credits: *The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by a team of animal behavior researchers and audio professionals. Come meet us here! We receive production support from the Cornell Broadcast studio directed by Bert Odom-Reed, and financial support from the Animal Behavior Society.
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Jul 17, 2023
S3E4: Live From Portland! Ft. Swanne Gordon and Jeff Podos
Matthew hosts a live episode of the podcast at the 2023 meeting of the Animal Behavior Society in Portland, Oregon.
The show features friends of the pod Swanne Gordon and Jeff Podos, as well as special guests Steve Nowicki and Ted Stankowich.
Content relevant to this episode:
1. Buy books of poems written by Janie E. Bibbie, the poet from whom Swanne reads
2. See Kim Rosvall's flaming hula hoop performance along with a list of others' circus tricks: http://www.nowickilab.org/tricklist.html
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Jul 3, 2023
S3E3 Sara Lewis on Firefly Behavior and Conservation
In this episode, Matthew speaks with Sara Lewis about her book, "Silent Sparks" and her career studying fireflies. They discuss the sexually selected behaviors that are so central to fireflies' lives. After the break, they talk about Sara's conservation work focused on documenting firefly population dynamics and threat levels that different species face.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Cheyenne McKinley, a PhD student studying bioluminescent ostracods in Todd Oakley's lab at UCSB.
*Resources relevant to this week's show:*
Silent Sparks, Sara's book about her career and research studying fireflies.
Fallon, C. E., Walker, A. C., Lewis, S., Cicero, J., Faust, L., Heckscher, C. M., ... & Jepsen, S. (2021). Evaluating firefly extinction risk: Initial red list assessments for North America. PloS one, 16(11), e0259379.
State of the Fireflies of the United States and Canada: Distributions, Threats, and Conservation Recommendations. Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
*Credits: *The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by a team of animal behavior researchers and audio professionals. Come meet us here! We receive production support from the Cornell Broadcast studio directed by Bert Odom-Reed, and financial support from the Animal Behavior Society.
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Jun 19, 2023
S3E2 Thore Bergman on Updating and Applying Niko Tinbergen's Four Questions
In this episode, Matthew speaks with Thore Bergman about Niko Tinbergen's 1963 paper "On Aims and Methods of Ethology." They discuss Tinbergen's four questions as well as additional context for each and Thore describes how he has applied Tinbergen's principles to his own work.
After the break, they discuss a paper that Thore and Jacinta Beehner published last year, arguing that the connections between Tinbergen's questions have been misunderstood.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Erin Wall, a PhD candidate studying birdsong perception in Sarah Woolley's lab at McGill University.
*Papers relevant to this week's show:*
Tinbergen, N. (1963). On aims and methods of ethology. Zeitschrift für tierpsychologie, 20(4), 410-433.
Bergman, T. J., & Beehner, J. C. (2022). Leveling with Tinbergen: Four levels simplified to causes and consequences. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 31(1), 12-19.
*Credits: *The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by a team of animal behavior researchers and audio professionals. Come meet us here! We receive production support from the Cornell Broadcast studio directed by Bert Odom-Reed, and financial support from the Animal Behavior Society.
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Jun 5, 2023
S3E1 William Kimler on Darwin and Chapter 7 of the Origin
In the first episode of Season 3, we kick off our new miniseries, "Foundations of Animal Behavior" in a conversation between Matthew and Darwin scholar and intellectual historian Dr. William Kimler. We recommend that you read Chapter 7 either before or after this conversation.
Here is the version (1st edition) that William and Matthew reference, starting on page 207 of the text (page 114 of the pdf): http://darwin-online.org.uk/converted/pdf/1859_Origin_F373.pdf
William first describes the social and intellectual context in which the Origin was written, including a description of natural theology and Darwin's own movement away from theology as a personal motivation in his work.
William steps us through five excerpts from Chapter 7, describing additional context and meaning that might otherwise be missed by a first (or tenth!) time reader of the chapter.
After the break, they discuss William's path from field ecologist to intellectual historian and what he sees as the value in connecting history and science. William pursues this goal as director of the Jefferson Scholars program at North Carolina State University.
Here are the books that William suggests any aspiring readers of Darwin, likely available at your local or university library:
* On the Origin of Species, 1st edition: http://darwin-online.org.uk/converted/pdf/1859_Origin_F373.pdf
* The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, with Introduction by John Tyler Bonne and Robert M May: https://press.princeton.edu/books/paperback/9780691023694/the-descent-of-man-and-selection-in-relation-to-sex
* The Darwinian Heritage: See Chapter 12 for the work by Janet Browne that William describes: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7ztrtb
* The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Darwin and Evolutionary Thought. See Chapter 20 for the essay by Gregory Radick that William references.
* Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior by Robert J Richards: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/D/bo5975789.html
*This week's Two Minute Takeaway *came from Caleb Hazel, PhD candidate and philosopher of science at Duke University. Learn more about Caleb and his work on his website. * *
*Credits: *The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by a team of animal behavior researchers and audio professionals. Come meet us here! We receive production support from the Cornell Broadcast studio directed by Bert Odom-Reed, and financial support from the Animal Behavior Society.
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Nov 9, 2022
Bonus Update: Kate Laskowski on Development of Individuality
Matthew talks with Kate Laskowski about a recently published update to her work on the development of individuality in genetically identical organisms.
If you missed the original episode, be sure to go check up Season 2 Episode 8!
Read the paper here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-34113-y
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Sep 26, 2022
S2E10 Zuleyma Tang-Martinez on Individual Odors, Challenging Bateman's Principle, and The ABS
In this episode, Amy speaks with guest *Zuleyma Tang-Martinez*, emeritus Professor of Biology at the University of Missouri - St. Louis.
They open by discussing the social function of individual odors and the potential factors driving the evolution of individual recognition systems in animals. Then, they chat about work by Zuleyma (and others) challenging Bateman's Principle, a widely accepted cornerstone of how we understand sexual selection. After the break, they discuss the importance of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI) efforts within and beyond academia, how the Animal Behavior Society has changed since its founding, and what excites Zuleyma about the future of our field.
This week's* Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Solimary García Hernández (@GhSolimary), a Postdoctoral Fellow at Universidade de São Paulo in Brazil. She is a behavioral ecologist especially interested in sexual selection, parental care, and defensive behaviors of arthropods. Recently, her resea…
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Sep 12, 2022
S2E9 Andy Sih on Animal Personality, Behavioral Skill, and 'Big Picture' Thinking
In this episode, Amy speaks with guest *Andy Sih*, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy within the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis.
They open by discussing the concept of animal personalities (a.k.a 'behavioral syndromes' or 'consistent individual differences in behavior'). Then, they chat about fear generalization in animals, and they discuss how and why human-induced rapid environmental change threatens some species more than others. After the break, they discuss international collaboration, integrative approaches to behavioral questions, and the value of 'big picture' thinking.
This week's* Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from *Jason Dinh *(@jasonpdinh), a PhD Candidate at Duke University. He uses physiology and physics to understand how sexually selected signals are used and perceived, exploring proximate mechanisms through an evolutionary lens. Learn more about Jason's work here.
*Papers relevant to toda…
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Aug 22, 2022
S2E8 Kate Laskowski on the Development of Individual Differences and Data Reproducibility
In this episode, Matthew speaks with guest Kate Laskowski (@KateLaskowski), an Assistant Professor in the Department of Evolution, and Ecology at the University of California, Davis
They discuss what it means for animals to display individuality, how frequent individual repeatable differences are, and Kate's work in Amazon mollies that attempts to identify the sources and consequences of individual differences in a naturally clonal species. Then after the break they discuss data reproducibility, including advice from Kate about low-effort steps that researchers can take to make their data more readily reproducible.
This week's* Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from *Mauna Desari** *(@chumblebiome), an NSF Postdoc at the University of Pittsburgh. Mauna studies the causes and consequences of variation in the microbiome in wild animals.
*Papers relevant to today's show:*
1. The meta-analysis of repeatability of behaviors:
Bell, Alison M., Shala J. Hankison, and Kate L. Laskowski. "The repe…
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Aug 8, 2022
S2E7 Gerry Carter on Animal Cooperation and Incentive Structures in Academia
In this episode, Amy speaks with guest *Gerry Carter* (@gerrygcarter), an Assistant Professor in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at The Ohio State University.
They open by discussing cooperation and conflict in animal social structures. Then, they dig into variation in individual food-sharing relationships in bats, and they chat about whether or not vampire bats show reciprocal altruism (and how to go about testing this). After the break, they discuss challenges with the current incentive structures in academia, including potential avenues for improvement.
This week's* Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from *Mena Davidson *(@mena_davidson), a PhD Candidate at the University of Michigan. They use a rodent model to study how social behavior and pair bonding are affected by changing environmental contexts. Learn more about Mena's work here.
*Papers relevant to today's show:*
1. Social bet-hedging in vampire bats 2017 Biology Letters
2. Co-option and the evolutio…
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Jul 14, 2022
Come Meet Us in Costa Rica!
ABS 2022 is just around the corner and The Animal Behavior Podcast will be there!
Come meet us!
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Jul 11, 2022
S2E6 Karen Warkentin on Treefrogs, Phenotypic Plasticity, and Linking Gender & Sexuality Studies with Biology
In this episode, Amy speaks with guest *Karen Warkentin*, a Professor of Biology and a Professor of Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at Boston University.
They open by discussing the adaptive value of phenotypic plasticity, particularly at critical moments in complex life cycles. Then, they dig into the mechanisms underlying environmentally-cued hatching in red-eyed treefrogs (Agalychnis callidryas), and they talk about experimental approaches Karen has used to test hypotheses within this system. After the break, they discuss Karen’s dual appointments in both Biology and Women’s, Gender, & Sexuality Studies at BU, including the value and necessity of integrating these fields.
This week's* Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from *Juleyska Vazquez-Cardona *(@JuleyskaV), a graduate student in The Birdsong Lab at the University of Lethbridge. Her work explores vocal communication in Adelaide's warblers (Setophaga adelaidae), a tropical songbird.
*Papers relevant to today's show:*
1.…
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Jun 27, 2022
S2E5 Nora H. Prior on Social Interactions - Linking Brain and Behavior
In this episode, Amy speaks with guest *Nora H. Prior* (@NhPrior), a Senior Research Associate in the Department of Psychology at Cornell University.
They open by discussing the many types of social relationships that animals experience throughout their lives, and the impact that these diverse social interactions may have on the involved individuals. Then, they dig into the neuroscience underlying our understanding of different social behaviors and explore the value of linking neural mechanisms and social behavior. After the break, they discuss scholar-activism, finding and building community in our field, and the value of bringing complex personal identities into our work as researchers.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from *Shailee Shah** *(@shailee_shah93), a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Chen Lab in the Department of Biology at the University of Rochester. Check out her recent paper in Science Advances, Prenatal environmental conditions underlie alternative repro…
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Jun 13, 2022
S2E4 Jesse Goldberg on Neurobiology and Vocal Learning in Song Birds
In this episode, Matthew speaks with Jesse Goldberg (@jesseGlab), Associate Professor and Robert R. Capranica Fellow in the neurobiology and behavior department at Cornell University.
They first cover Jesse's perspectives on some basics of neurobiology-- what he identifies as a brain's function and the brain's role in creating predictions and controlling movement. They then discuss the role of dopamine in an animal's learning and discoveries that Jesse's lab has made regarding the role of dopamine in song learning in zebra finches, in particular.
Then after the break they discuss Jesse's path from to neurobiology as well as the limitations and promises of the field of neurobiology.
A clarifying note to listeners, during our conversation the nervous systems of a marine animal - the sea squirt - becomes relevant. Although discussed as an example, we want to be clear that sea squirts retain some form of nervous system throughout their entire lives (though they digest large parts of the…
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May 30, 2022
S2E3 Swanne Gordon on Evolution of Polymorphism and Diversity in Biological Sciences
In this episode, Matthew speaks with Swanne Gordon (@Swanne Gordon), Assistant Professor of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis.
They talk about diversity in both nature and in the biological sciences. The research focus of the conversation focuses on Swanne's experimental and modeling work to understand polymorphism among aposematic wood tiger moths, and the surprising outcomes that positive density dependent selection can have, when combined with migration between populations.
Then after the break they discuss the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in biological sciences, especially in evolutionary biology. Swanne describes her own experiences and identifies areas of progress and failure in our field. Then they close their conversation by discussing the benefits of increasing diversity in the model systems that we study.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Dishari Dasgupta (@DishariDg), a PhD student at IISER Kolkata.* *Read Dishari's work on food preference of…
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May 16, 2022
S2E2 Tamra Mendelson on Signal Evolution and Processing Bias
In this episode, Matthew speaks with Tamra Mendelson (@tamram), Professor of Biological Sciences at UMBC.
They talk about Tamra's work studying sexual signal evolution. They discuss the processing bias hypothesis, with a focus on the importance of the ease of processing a signal on the receivers preference for signals. They talk about evidence that efficient processing has shaped human preferences for art and faces, and consider the implications of the same phenomenon in animal signal evolution.
After the break, they talk about ICARE, an NSF-funded Masters program at UMBC that she leads that promotes social and environmental justice by training a diverse workforce of environmental scientists to solve environmental problems.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Zeke Rowe (@Zeke_Rowe_), a PhD student at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam .* *Read Zeke's paper about camouflage and complexity in moths here.
*Media relevant to today's show:
1. * Tamra's synthesis paper laying out the…
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May 2, 2022
S2E1 Jenn Smith on Ground Squirrels, Female Leadership, and SLACs
In this episode, Matthew speaks with Jenn Smith (@JennSmithSocBeh), associate professor of biology at Mills College.
They talk about Jenn's work directing a long-term study of the social behavior of California ground squirrels, including the opportunities and risks presented by remote data collection technologies. They also discuss Jenn's work connecting animal behavior and sociological questions, such as the female leadership paradox and the inheritance of wealth and privilege.
After the break, they talk about Jenn's experience as a professor at a small liberal arts college, what the students and mentorship environment is like, and what steps students and postdocs who are seeking such a job should take.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Dr. Gabriela Pinho (@Gabriela_MPinho), a researcher at the Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas and recent PhD from UCLA .* *Read Gabriela's open-access paper about aging in marmots here.
*Media relevant to today's show:
1. * Jenn's paper…
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Oct 25, 2021
E10: Floria Mora-Kepfer Uy on Insect Colonies, Flexible Societies, and Diversity in STEM
*Episode Summary:
*In this episode, Amy speaks with *Floria Mora-Kepfer Uy* (@AvispaTica), a Research Assistant Professor and Assistant Professor of Instruction in the Department of Biology at the University of Rochester.
They discuss the selection pressures that favor the evolution of sociality, how brain architecture varies among individuals with different social roles, and brood parasitism in a social insect. Then, after the break they talk about tropical fieldwork, mentoring, and diversity in STEM. They close by discussing the exciting future of animal behavior research.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway *comes from *Bishwarup Paul* (@digantabiz), a Research Associate at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research in Kolkata. To learn more about his work on opportunistic brood theft in ants, check out his recent paper in Scientific Reports, Opportunistic brood theft in the context of colony relocation in an Indian queenless ant.
The *Bonus Material* at the end of this…
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Oct 11, 2021
E09: Mike Ryan on A Taste for the Beautiful
*Episode Summary:
*
In this episode, Matthew speaks with Mike Ryan, the Clark Hubbs Regents Professor in Zoology in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas as well as a senior research associate at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Balboa, Panama.
They focus their conversation around Mike's book, A Taste for the Beautiful. They discuss the túngara frog system in detail, as well as the sensory exploitation hypothesis. After the break they talk about some compelling examples of sexual beauty that span modalities in non-human animals, and close by discussing human and non-human perception of non-sexual beauty.
For more content from this interview with Mike, check out the Supplemental Material bonus episode in your feed.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Dr. Emily Bray (@DrEmilyBray), a postdoc at the University of Arizona Canine Cognition Center and Canine Companions. Read the paper that Emily references in the episode here.
*Media rel…
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Oct 11, 2021
Supplemental Material: Mike Ryan
Bonus content to accompany Episode 9.
We recommend listening to the full episode with Mike first before listening to this bonus content.
Let us know what you think about this new bonus format at animalbehaviorpod@gmail.com
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Sep 28, 2021
E08: Jeff Podos on Bird Beaks, Song Evolution, and Performance Constraints
*Episode Summary:
*In this episode, Amy speaks with Jeff Podos, a Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Massachusetts - Amherst and a previous President of the Animal Behavior Society.
They start out discussing how a diet of fruit can explain elaborate sexual ornamentation in animals. Then, we learn about Jeff's work on Darwin's finches in the Galápagos Islands. They also talk about what drives bellbirds to sing such piercingly loud songs.
After the break, Amy and Jeff talk about his new approach to teaching Animal Behavior (sparked by the pandemic), and his recent sabbatical in Brazil. They close by discussing the future of the field of animal behavior.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway *comes from Ellen Pasternack (@EllenPasternack), a final year PhD student at The University of Oxford. She studies the mechanisms of sexual selection through behavioral observation of domestic chickens and their ancestor species, the red junglefowl. She's particularly interest…
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Sep 13, 2021
Supplemental Material: Dai Shizuka
Bonus content to accompany Episode 7.
We recommend listening to the full episode with Dai first before listening to this bonus content.
Let us know what you think about this new bonus format at animalbehaviorpod@gmail.com
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Sep 13, 2021
E07: Dai Shizuka on Sociality and Space Use
*Episode Summary:
*
In this episode, Matthew speaks with Dai Shizuka (@ShizukaLab), an associate professor in the school of biological sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
They start out by talking about social networks in humans and non-human animals. They discuss applying these techniques to non-model organisms, like the golden-crowned sparrows that Dai has studied. Then they talk about the relationship between space use and sociality, and the feedback between the two. After the break, they talk about how Dai was drawn to animal behavior while growing up in urban environments, and his work to promote justice for those in his academic and non-academic communities.
For more content from this interview with Dai, check out the Supplemental Material bonus episode in your feed.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Brett Hodinka (@BrettHodinka), a graduate student at Simon Fraser University. Read more about Brett's work here.
*Media relevant to today's show:
1. * Dai…
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Aug 30, 2021
E06: Eileen Hebets on Arachnid Sensory Systems, Extreme Mating Behavior, and Science Communication
*Episode Summary:
*In this episode, Amy speaks with Eileen Hebets (@hebets_lab), a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and the current President of the Animal Behavior Society.
They start out discussing sensory systems and the evolution of multimodal communication in arachnids. Then, we learn about sexual cannibalism and the evolution of this terminal investment strategy by males in many spider species. They also talk about Eileen's research into cognition and learning in arachnids.
After the break, Amy and Eileen talk about the importance of basic research for innovation and discovery, as well as Eileen's experience learning to quantify and evaluate her science communication efforts.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway *comes from Emily Ray (@emilyjray21), a doctoral student at Louisiana State University studying filial cannibalism control in a maternal mouthbrooding cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni. Currently, she is investigatin…
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Aug 16, 2021
Supplemental Material: Marcela Benítez
Bonus content to accompany Episode 5.
We recommend listening to the full episode with Marcela first before listening to this bonus content.
Let us know what you think about this new bonus format at animalbehaviorpod@gmail.com
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Aug 16, 2021
E05: Marcela Benítez on Social Comparisons and Cognition in Non-human Primates
*Episode Summary:
*
In this episode, Matthew speaks with Marcela Benítez (@mebenitez85), an assistant professor in the department of Anthropology at Emory University and co-director of the Capuchinos de Taboga research project.
They start out by talking about social comparisons in humans and non-human primates. They discuss mutual assessment and Marcela's work exploring mutual assessment in geladas. Then they talk about non-human primate perceptions of inequity, its implications for cooperation, and the role of outgroups in promoting in-group cooperation. After the break, they discuss the overlap between psychology, anthropology, and evolutionary anthropology as well as the work of Marcela and her colleagues to make primate fieldwork for accessible for undergraduates.
For more content from this interview with Marcela, check out the Supplemental Material bonus episode in your feed.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Sateesh Vankatesh (@SVenkatesh__), a graduate student in…
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Aug 2, 2021
E04: Ted Stankowich on Mammal Weaponry, Aposematic Coloration, and Museum Specimens
*Episode Summary:
*In this episode, Amy speaks with *Ted Stankowich* (@CSULBMammalLab), an Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Biological Sciences at California State University Long Beach.
They start out discussing the ecological conditions that favor extreme morphological traits such as armor and weaponry. Then, they talk about Ted’s research into mammal coloration, including the relationship between skunk stripes and their infamous spraying abilities. We also learn about Ted’s involvement in the Urban Wildlife Information Network (@uwi_network), a collaborative alliance of urban wildlife scientists.
After the break, they discuss using museum collections for teaching, why scientists can benefit from social media, and Ted’s experience with the tenure process at an R2 institution.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway *comes from Ummat Somjee (@ummat_s), a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. Read Ummat’s paper about the role of metabolic ma…
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Jul 19, 2021
E03: Eleanor Caves on the Umwelt, Cleaner Shrimp, and Imposter Syndrome
*Episode Summary:
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In this episode, Matthew speaks with Eleanor Caves (@EleanorCaves), a Marie Curie fellow and soon-to-be assistant professor at UC Santa Barbara.
They start out by talking about the concept of the umwelt and the importance of sensory ecology in understanding animal behavior. Then they talk about Eleanor's work exploring the signaling and sensory worlds of cleaner shrimp and their clients. After the break, they discuss work-life balance, imposter syndrome, and overcoming challenges in academia.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Chase Anselmo (@ChasingTheBrain), a graduate student in the Maruska lab at Louisiana State University. Read about the paper that serves as the foundation for Chase's work studying the impacts of hormones on cichlid color perception here.
*Papers/media relevant to today's show:
1. *For an explanation of the history of the umwelt and human biases in sensory ecology:
*EM Caves, *S Nowicki, and S Johnsen. 2019. Von Uexküll revisite…
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Jul 5, 2021
E02: Esteban Fernandez-Juricic on Vertebrate Vision, Conservation Behavior, and Research Reproducibility
*Episode Summary:
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In this episode, Amy speaks with *Esteban Fernandez-Juricic* (@EstebanFerJur), a Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University and the current President of the Animal Behavior Society.
They start out discussing how sensory physiology can help answer questions about animal behavior, and why there is so much variation in visual systems across taxa. Then they talk about how Esteban's basic research into vision and behavior has enabled fruitful collaborations with conservation practitioners working on wildlife management applications.
After the break, they talk about research reproducibility in animal behavior, as well as Esteban's leadership as Animal Behavior Society President.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Magdalena Wlodarz, a graduate student in Ecology, Evolution, and Nature Conservation. Magdalena is part of the Animal Ecology Working Group at the University of Potsdam in Germany.
*Select papers relevant to today's show:
*1. Esteban and…
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Jun 21, 2021
E01: Susan Alberts on the Amboseli Baboons and Women in Primatology
*Episode Summary:
*
In this episode, Matthew speaks with *Susan Alberts* (@susan_alberts), who co-directs the Amboseli Baboon Research Project (@AmboseliBaboons), a long-term longitudinal study of wild baboons.
They start out by talking about what behavior is and why animal behavior is of particular salience. Then they talk about the history of the Amboseli project, how Susan became involved in baboon research in the 1980s, and some notable results from the project. They also discuss the power of long-term, organism-focused research to reveal otherwise hidden insights into animal behavior.
After the break, they discuss the relationship that the baboon project has cultivated with the local Massai community and the leading role of women in primatology.
This week's *Two-Minute Takeaway* comes from Dr. Erin Siracusa (@erin_sira), a postdoctoral research associate with the Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour at the University of Exeter, U.K. Read Erin's paper about the role of famili…
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Jun 18, 2021
(Preview) E06- Eileen Hebets
This is a preview of the sixth episode of the Animal Behavior Podcast, which launches June 21. Please share with friends and colleagues.
Follow the podcast on Twitter (@AnimalBehavPod) along with hosts Amy Strauss (@avstrauss) and Matthew Zipple (@MatthewZipple)
Contact us at animalbehaviorpod@gmail.com.
Thanks to The Animal Behavior Society (@AnimBehSociety) for support.
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Jun 16, 2021
(Preview) E07- Dai Shizuka
This is a preview of the seventh episode of the Animal Behavior Podcast, which launches June 21. Please share with friends and colleagues.
Follow the podcast on Twitter (@AnimalBehavPod) along with hosts Matthew Zipple (@MatthewZipple) and Amy Strauss (@avstrauss).
Contact us at animalbehaviorpod@gmail.com.
Thanks to The Animal Behavior Society (@AnimBehSociety) for support.
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Jun 14, 2021
(Preview) E04- Ted Stankowich
This is a preview of the fourth episode of the Animal Behavior Podcast, which launches June 21. Please share with friends and colleagues.
Follow the podcast on Twitter (@AnimalBehavPod) along with hosts Amy Strauss (@avstrauss) and Matthew Zipple (@MatthewZipple)
Contact us at animalbehaviorpod@gmail.com.
Thanks to The Animal Behavior Society (@AnimBehSociety) for support.
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Jun 11, 2021
(Preview) E03- Eleanor Caves
This is a preview of the third episode of the Animal Behavior Podcast, which launches June 21. Please share with friends and colleagues.
Follow the podcast on Twitter (@AnimalBehavPod) along with hosts Matthew Zipple (@MatthewZipple) and Amy Strauss (@avstrauss).
Contact us at animalbehaviorpod@gmail.com.
Thanks to The Animal Behavior Society (@AnimBehSociety) for support.
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Jun 9, 2021
(Preview) E02- Esteban Fernandez-Juricic
This is a preview of the second episode of the Animal Behavior Podcast, which launches June 21. Please share with friends and colleagues.
Follow the podcast on Twitter (@AnimalBehavPod) along with hosts Amy Strauss (@avstrauss) and Matthew Zipple (@MatthewZipple)
Contact us at animalbehaviorpod@gmail.com.
Thanks to The Animal Behavior Society (@AnimBehSociety) for support.
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Jun 5, 2021
(Preview) E01- Susan Alberts
This is a preview of the first episode of the Animal Behavior Podcast, which launches June 21. Please share with friends and colleagues.
Follow the podcast on Twitter (@AnimalBehavPod) along with hosts Matthew Zipple (@MatthewZipple) and Amy Strauss (@avstrauss).
Contact us at animalbehaviorpod@gmail.com.
Thanks to The Animal Behavior Society (@AnimBehSociety) for support.
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