Nature's Archive

Today's episode could be broadly described as “how to maximize your time in the field”, whether it be casual hikes, random walks in nature, goal-driven hikes, or BioBlitzes.  And our guests are Chloe and Trevor Van Loon. Chloe has a background in ecology and environmental science, and while Trevor’s educational background is in math and computer science, he’s also become a fanatical amateur naturalist. In fact, both Chloe and Trevor are highly skilled naturalists and prolific iNaturalist contributors. No biome or habitat is off limits for them, and they have an insatiable drive to learn more.Chloe and Trevor offer tips and techniques to identify the plants, fungi, and insects you find, regardless of whether you are a budding nature lover or a seasoned naturalist. We discuss approaches to making new personal discoveries, using iNaturalist to locate nearby and interesting taxa, and many specific techniques, including using UV lights at night, using a sweep net, and challenging your own assumptions about where to find interesting things. Who knows - maybe you too can observe a nival aeolian fallout! Listen to learn exactly what that is!There are so many actionable suggestions and ideas that I really just gave up on the idea that this intro would do the episode justice. And be sure to check the show notes at naturesarchive.com for links to the resources mentioned today. And find Chloe and Trevor on iNaturalist, instagram, or on Chloe's blog.FULL SHOW NOTESPeople and OrganizationsDamon Tighe's Instagram and iNatMarin Mushrooms (Alison Pollack) on InstagramBooks and AppsJepson Manual - classic for California plantsROCKD appSibley Guide to Birds of the Western North AmericaChloe's recent review of The Cougar ConundrumOther Naturalist Tools MentionedHand lens or loupeInsect aspirator (aka pooter) - here's an examplePhone macro lenses - Make sure the lens you buy is compatible with your phone and case!UV Lights: USB UV Kit for backpacking; High powered for general use; the "Gold Standard" LepiLEDSupport Us On Patreon!Buy our Merch!Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz MusicLicense (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseArtist 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 in this episode is Dr. Andrew Farnsworth. Andrew is a Senior Research Associate in the Center for Avian Population Studies at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and has a BS in Natural Resources from Cornell University, MS in Zoology from Clemson University, and PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell.Andrew started birding at age 5 and quickly developed a fascination with bird migration, which continues to this day. His research advances the use and application of multiple technologies to study bird movements on continental scales. This includes the use of weather surveillance radar, audio and video recording and monitoring tools, citizen science datasets, and machine learning techniques.Today we discuss one of his primary projects, BirdCast. BirdCast presents near real time bird migration status, provides migration forecasts up to three days out, and provides local migration alerts to inform conservation action.Creating BirdCast has required decades of research and a combination of many disciplines. Andrew discusses how ground-truth observations, acoustics, and radar data are correlated to weather data to produce a predictive model that accurately forecasts migration days in advance. Andrew discusses how advances in computing technology and machine learning have dramatically advanced model accuracy and accelerated progress.We get into the details of the model, including why temperature is the most important factor in bird migration prediction, how tropical storms impact migration, and why migration and monitoring in the western USA is different from the eastern USA.We also discuss how birders can use BirdCast for their interests, and the many ways that migration prediction helps with conservation efforts, such as Lights Out Texas.You can see the forecasts and a lot of research and technical data at birdcast.info, or follow the team @DrBirdCast, on twitter.FULL SHOW NOTESLinks to People and Topics DiscussedThe Academy of Natural SciencesAdriaan Doktor, Benjamin Van Doren and Kyle Horton from the birdcast teamDr. Sidney Gauthreaux - Dr. Farnsworth's advisor at Clemson University, and a pioneer in the field.How radar detects birds (from birdcast.info) Lights Out Texas from Texan By NatureWSR 88D (aka NexRAD) - the US National Weather Service overview of the technologyLinks to Related EpisodesBrian Sullivan - Brian is a former project lead for eBird, also from the Cornell Lab. This episode discusses that, as well are many technological opportunities to better understand birdsProject Terra - learn more about bird telemetry, nocturnal flight calls, and associated tracking technologies 

This is an encore of my popular wildfire in the west interview with Rick Halsey of the California Chaparral Institute.Don't worry, more great new episodes are coming.  Do you want to learn about bird migration forecasting? I’ve got you covered. And how about maximizing your nature observations when in the field? Covered again. And I have a bunch of other episodes and new projects in the works, too, from wild memes to beavers to mycelium - that confirms it! I’m really a fungi! Onto the encore of episode 9. And if you enjoy the topic of wildfire, also check episode #24 with Justin Angle.Rick Halsey is the author of “Fire, Chaparral, and Survival in Southern California”, and has a background in Environmental Studies, Anthropology, and Education, with degrees from University of California Santa Barbara and Cal State San Diego and UC Berkeley. He is the founder and director of the California Chaparral Institute, dedicated to preserving California’s chaparral through scientific research, nature education, and activism. Chaparral habitats are expansive and the most important habitat at the wildland/urban interface in California’s major cities. In this episode we discuss the myths and realities of wildfire. There are many eye opening insights that often get lost in our desire to have single, simple answers. That’s the theme of the episode - nuance. Causes and solutions vary by habitat and condition. And while we focus a lot on California, the principles apply to much of the west.We discuss the ecosystems of the west, their historical fire behaviors and how that history was determined through charcoal records and tree ring analysis. We discuss the fact that huge, hot fires are not necessarily unnatural, and why the “fuel build up” narrative is often untrue, and when it makes sense. And the dramatic increase in human caused ignitions, which often occur at the more unnatural and dangerous times of the season. We discuss indigenous fire management and application and simple solutions for people living in the wildland-urban interface.We also delve into Rick’s insights as an educator. His skill and dedication led to him receiving the McAuliffe Fellowship. Over the years he’s fine-tuned his delivery and we discuss his wonderful essay on his transformation from lecturer to the engage model.Full Notes Jack CohenKeith LombardoRick's BookCamp Fire Paradise, CA disasterSanta Rosa’s Coffey Park disasterStudy shows improved hospital recovery for park-facing patientsSanta Monica NRA wildfire chaparral resourcesABA Podcast Steve Maguire’s high school ornithology classThe Nature Fix – Why Nature Makes us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative – Florence WilliamsWASP sprinklers

My guest today is Cricket Raspet. Cricket is a Curatorial Assistant at the California Academy of Sciences, specializing in marine mammals.  She’s a passionate community scientist, raptor bander with GGRO and a rescue and animal care volunteer at the Marine Mammal Center.  An interest (obsession?) with the colorful sea slugs of the pacific coast led her from the tidepools to the strange community of creatures that make floating docks their home. With a handful of like-minded explorers, she founded the Dockfoulers Union to educate people about this unique ecosystem and document its inhabitants through photography and iNaturalist observations.  Dockfouling is like "biofouling", where marine organisms collect on submerged items. But with docks, you can easily observe this amazing array of organisms. Think of it like tidepooling, but with some distinct advantages. Unique and colorful creatures can be readily seen, and these areas are ripe for personal and scientific discovery. Simply put, dockfouling can be both a crash course and a masters course in marine ecology.We discuss Cricket's amazing finds in these floating dock biomes, the emergence of a dock fouling community, and how you can observe these magnificent creatures next time you are near a floating dock. It turns out it is easy to get started - no equipment necessary! But if you want to start taking photos, Cricket offers suggestions as well.Find Cricket on Instagram at chilipossum, dockfoulersunion, glamourslugs, and iNaturalist.Full Show NotesLinksDock Fouling in California Dock Fouling in Washington StateDoctoberNature LookingsOlympus TG-6 Waterproof Camera- recommended for underwater and terrestrial macro. And a tutorial to use the TG-6 for Tidepool PhotographyThe Light and Smith Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon, by James T. CarltonSeashore Life of the Northern Pacific, by Eugene KozloffPeople and Organizations DiscussedCalifornia Academy of SciencesDamon Tighe - presentations on YouTube at Lake MerrittDockfoulers Union (instagram)Luan Roberts (instagram)Support Us On Patreon!Buy our Merch!Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz MusicLicense (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseArtist 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!

Dr. Merav Vonshak is a former guest on the podcast from episode 7. Merav is an ecologist, naturalist, and citizen science organizer (see BioBlitz.club) located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Merav volunteers as a curator on iNaturalist, and has an astounding 42800 observations on iNaturalist. She has also lead a project to document and raise awareness about the tragically high roadkill mortality of pacific newts along Lexington reservoir in the San Francisco Bay Area.Merav is one of those people who has many fascinating projects and nature observations. But today, we’re talking about her latest idea - Gall Week 2021, which is planned from October 2 to October 10 (yes, it is a week PLUS a bonus weekend!).The idea is to get everyone, regardless of naturalist ability, to get out and observe these fascinating creatures.If you aren’t sure what a plant gall is, I can point back just two episodes ago to my interview with Adam Kranz covering all things galls. But the short answer is these are beautiful and sometimes bizarre growths on plant tissues induced by another organism, such as a wasp, midge, or many others. They often develop vivid colors and evocative shapes, and all have fascinating natural histories. These growths occur specifically to support the life cycle of the inducer, and are often induced in amazingly precise ways.Today Merav tells us about the project, how to participate, and has a few tips and tricks for documenting your observations.FULL SHOW NOTESLinks To Topics DiscussedGall Week 2021 iNaturalist Project - join this project so you can add it to your gall observationsBooks and Gall ResourcesGallformers.org - searchable (by host plant or gall) website with detailed descriptions of galls Plant Galls of the Western United States, by Ronald Russo – HIGHLY recommendediNaturalist Gall Projects:Galls of CaliforniaGalls of North AmericaLeaf and Plant Galls - a global project Merav has a pamphlet of San Francisco Bay Area galls

My guest today is Dr. Jaret Daniels. Dr. Daniels is a professor specializing in lepidoptera research and insect conservation at the University of Florida, and is curator of Lepidoptera at the  Florida Museum of Natural History. In addition to that, Dr. Daniels is the author of over a dozen books that help connect the general public to butterflies, insects, and gardening for wildlife. These include titles such as Backyard Bugs, Insects and Bugs for Kids, and Native Plant Gardening for Birds, Bees and Butterflies, which is a series of regionally-specific books.In this episode we dive into Dr. Daniels ability to connect with the public, and how he “flips the switch” between academic endeavors and authoring for the general public. We discuss some of his specific books (links in the show notes). And he outlines why creativity is so important for public outreach. Along those lines, he tells us about the butterfly themed beer partnership with First Magnitude Brewing, which even used yeast from a butterfly!Dr. Daniels also discusses some of his conservation activities and successes, including helping to restore the federally listed Schaus’ Swallowtail, which only lives in tropical hardwood hammock habitats in southeast Florida. This restoration also involved important efforts from community science (or citizen science) doing hard work monitoring populations in very challenging environments. This butterfly occupies a limited geographic range, meaning it is vulnerable to both habitat loss and storms such as hurricanes. Dr. Daniels discusses the recovery plan and how they intend to make Schaus' Swallowtail populations more resilient.As you know, I love to highlight ways we can make non-traditional spaces more wildlife friendly, and this is a specialty of Dr. Daniels. We hear about how Dr. Daniels worked with the Florida Dept. of Transportation to demonstrate that reduced roadside mowing frequency was a win-win-win for drivers, the department, and insects.And to support homeowners looking to make better plant choices, Dr. Daniels is collaborating to create a wildlife-friendly plant certification program. Additionally, Dr. Daniels reveals some surprising findings from studying attractiveness of various home landscapes in Florida. The short story: plant larger quantities of fewer "good" plants, and you'll create a better habitat than lots of variety, but with only one specimen of each species.You can also find Dr. Daniels on twitter.This was an enlightening discussion on a number of fronts, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. FULL SHOW NOTESDr. Daniel's BooksBackyard Bugs: An Identification Guide to Common Insects, Spiders, and MoreInsects & Bugs for Kids: An Introduction to EntomologyNative Plant Gardening for Birds, Bees & Butterflies: A series covering the Upper Midwest, Southeast, South (coming soon)Other LinksPlasterer Bees of the Southeast - an iNaturalist project started by the Florida Museum of Natural History looking to gather knowledge and observations about these rare bees. And more about the Plasterer Bee Project from the museum.The Florida Museum of Natural HistoryThe Xerces Society

Galls are beautiful and sometimes bizarre growths on plant tissues induced by another organism, such as a wasp, midge, or others. They often develop vivid colors and evocative shapes, and have fascinating natural histories.And Adam Kranz is here to help us understand what a gall is, their lifecycles, how to find them, and about Gallformers.org, a website designed to be the authoritative resource for all USA/Canada plant galls.Adam has a BA in Environmental Studies from Lawrence University in Wisconsin, and a Masters of Science in Natural Resources and Environmental Science from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.We also discuss some particularly amazing galls that you’ll have to hear to believe. For example, Adam explains how the larvae inside the gall may steer the plant response throughout their lifespan! Check the full show notes for photos.We discuss techniques for identifying galls in the field, including their attributes and how to differentiate them from other plant growths. Galls are common worldwide and provide ample opportunities for discovering and describing new species.Adam also gives a nice overview of three extremely interesting galls that are among his favorites.Callirhytis quercusoperatorDryocosmus quercuspalustrisCallirhytis quercusgemmariaEach of these have fascinating natural histories, including peculiarities like hollow centers with free-rolling cells, and what might be considered a gall threesome, where a second cynipid wasp comes along and entirely changes the gall’s developmental trajectory. You can find Adam on twitter @gallformers, and on iNaturalist @megachile.FULL SHOW NOTESLinksBiodiversity Heritage LibraryBugguideEiseman’s blog BugTracksiNaturalist Gall Projects: California | North America BooksPlant Galls of the Western United States, by Ronald Russo - HIGHLY recommendedTracks and Signs of Insects and Other Invertebrates by Charley Eiseman - HIGHLY recommendedWeld Cynipid Books: Free! See the full show notes PodcastsCharley EisemanDr. Doug TallamySupport Us On Patreon!Buy our Merch!Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz MusicLicense (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseArtist 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 guests in this episode are Dr. Carrie Olson-Manning and Sydney Kreutzmann. Dr. Olson-Manning is an Assistant Professor at Augustana University, has a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Genetics from Duke University, and leads the Olson-Manning Lab which focuses on understanding how biochemical pathways evolve.Sydney Kreutzmann is a Research Technician in Dr. Olson-Manning's lab, working on a number of research and outreach efforts.In today’s episode, we focus on milkweed, and in particular, the Common Milkweed, Asclepias syriaca, of the eastern United States, and the Showy Milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, of the arid west. Dr. Olson-Manning’s lab is studying how these two species hybridize in the transition zone in the Great Plains, where humid eastern climates give way to arid western climates. They discuss some of their initial findings, but as is often the case, each discovery opens up many new questions.But to do milkweeds justice, we also get deep into many broader aspects of milkweed, discussing their diversity, speciation, and ranges. No discussion of milkweed is complete without coverage of milkweed toxicity, and the unique animals that rely on it despite this toxicity. And of course, this means some Monarch butterfly talk. But did you know that there are at least 10 other species that rely on milkweed as part of their lifecycle?And one other amazing fact - milkweed produce dopamine. Yes, the same dopamine that you and I rely on. You’ll have to listen to hear how it is put to use.Be sure to check out Dr. Olson-Manning's lab, milkweedflower.org for more details on the common and showy milkweed hybridization research, and their instagram. You can also follow the Olson-Manning lab on iNaturalist, and join their iNaturalist project that tracks observations of the Showy and Common milkweeds and their hybrids.Full Show Notes HereLinks and ReferencesPast Episodes MentionedPollinator Posse and the Western MonarchCharley Eiseman and LeafminersBooks and ResourcesMonarchs and Milkweed by Anurag Agrawal, also available as an audiobook!Monarch Joint Venture - a resource mentioned by Dr. Olson-ManningWhat Milkweed To Plant - PDF showing which species to plan by region of the USAPeople, Organizations, and Other ThingsDr. Steven Matzner - collaborator iNaturalist - anyone can use this wonderful resource to learn about the plants, animals, fungi, and other things living in their area.Mead's Milkweed - a milkweed species that is threatenedTropical Milkweed - is NOT recommended by Xerces Society. We discuss this briefly in the episode.Note: links to books are affiliate links

My guest today is Brandon Kong. Brandon is a conservation field technician at Stanford University, is studying Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz, and has a particular passion for “herping” , which is looking for and studying the nature of reptiles and amphibians. Brandon’s studies and field work give him plenty of hands-on herping experience, and he shares many of his amazing finds on his YouTube and Instagram channels.We had two primary goals for today - discuss what herping is and how to do it, and dive deeper into the California Tiger Salamander, which is the subject of Brandon’s conservation efforts and studies.The topic of herping is immense. After all, it covers snakes, lizards, newts, salamanders, frogs, toads, and more. And species diversity and behaviors vary dramatically across habitats.Despite the enormity of the topic, I think we pulled it off! In this episode you’ll learn about how to find herps and where to look, weather dependencies, and the ethics and etiquette of herping. These are sensitive animals with fragile habitats, so this is particularly important.Along the way we also discuss Brandon’s experiences with the Prairie Rattlesnake and Project RattleCam, Next we move into the amazing world of the California Tiger Salamander, and learn about what makes them so unique. Brandon offers some tricks of the trade in tracking and identifying unique individuals, as well as discusses the challenges of road mortality.Brandon also offers great resources for would-be herpers looking to learn more.And one note about today’s recording - I’m trying very hard to maintain my episode release schedule on top of my day job and family demands. To that end, I purchased some new audio editing software that promises to save a lot of time. I used the software for the first time for this episode, and yes, there is a learning curve. There were some things it did well that I couldn’t have done previously, but there were also some things that I learned to do differently in the future. Thanks for your patience as I work to sustain and scale the show.FULL SHOW NOTESPeople, Organizations and ThingsChytrid Fungus - article about this destructive pathogen that threatens global amphibiansEnormous congregations of garter snakes in Manitoba, and a videoLife in Cold Blood - David Attenborough 5 episode series Project RattleCam citizen science project to help scientists learn about rattlesnake behavior led by Dr. Emily Taylor and Dr. Scott BobackBooks and ResourcesCalifornia Herps - website for herps in CaliforniaField Guides by Robert Stebbins and Samuel McGinnis: Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians is a good guide for the western USA, and Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of California goes into depth for California.The Field Herping Guide by Mike Pingleton and Joshua Holbrooki3s Spot - Software Brandon uses to identify specific individual tiger salamanders by photo

Today's guest is Dr. Doug Tallamy, and let me say up-front that the episode title doesn't really do justice to our wide ranging discussion!Doug Tallamy is the T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored over 100 research publications and has taught insect related courses for 40 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His book Bringing Nature Home  was published by Timber Press in 2007 and was awarded the 2008 Silver Medal by the Garden Writers' Association. Nature’s Best Hope  (2020) a New York Times Best Seller, and his latest book The Nature of Oaks was released by Timber Press in 2021. Dr. Tallamy is the recipient of numerous awards for his conservation and communication efforts. Today we discuss the aforementioned The Nature of Oaks.Oaks aren't just a little important, but stand well above others in terms of the number of insects they support. Why is this important? As you'll hear, the majority of birds require insects to raise young, and not only that, but immense numbers of caterpillars. And this is just scratching the surface of the food web impacts. We also talk about gall-making wasps that use oaks, and the parasitoid wasps that rely on those gall-making wasps! Dr. Tallamy gives a great introduction into gall maker life histories.We discuss some basic ecological concepts in relation to oaks, including keystone species, trophic levels and energy transfer. We consider the roles oaks played back when our forests were more diverse, before the American Chestnut was wiped out, before Dutch Elm Disease wiped out 75% of mature elms, and before the current die-off of eastern Ash trees.Doug discussing semi-random acorn masting, and reviews the four fascinating hypothesis as to why this is.Doug started Homegrown National Park (instagram) that helps people understand the critical connection they have with functional food webs and ecosystems. We discuss how Homegrown National Park came to be, how to help people make yards more ecologically functional, and some tips and suggestions for connecting with people if you too want to advocate for this good cause.FULL SHOW NOTESMORE LINKSCalifornia Native Plant Society CalScape native plant finderKenneth V. Rosenberg - lead author of study showing 3 billion birds have been lostMichelle Alfandari - Partnered with Doug to create Homegrown National ParkSudden Oak DeathTammany Baumgarten - advocate for the "1Support Us On Patreon!Buy our Merch!Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz MusicLicense (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-licenseArtist 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!