The Behavioural Ecology and Evolution Podcast (the Beepcast)

Oct 17: Iain Couzin's Scientific Spark, why do deer in Japan bow, and why are some plant nectars bitter?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 18:01:00 +0000

This month I meet some very polite deer who have a special way of asking for food. I discover why some plant nectars contain poisonous toxins. And in the scientific spark, I talk to Iain Couzin from the Max Planck Department of Collective Behaviour. Iain tells me what sparked his interest in becoming a scientist, and how, if his teachers had had their way, he might have been doing something entirely different.

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Feeding a sika deer in Nara Park, Japan

Today I met the sika deer of #Nara #Japan who have learned to bow for treats. Seems to be a #sociallytransmitted #behaviour pic.twitter.com/jTedabe2hW
— Dr. Hannah Rowland (@HannahMRowland) October 1, 2017

Quicklinks:

Variation and social influence of bowing behavior by sika deer (Cervus nippon) in the journal Ethology
Patty Jone' lab webpage at Bowdoin
Patty's paper on the consequences of toxic secondary compounds in nectar for mutualist bees and antagonist butterflies.
Iain Couzin's Collective Behaviour Department

Sept 2015: Kate Umbers, burying beetle parental care, and tasteless monkey thieves

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 27 Dec 2015 20:18:00 +0000

This month I find out that animals should be careful when choosing a mate, picking a partner that matches them in quality, else they might face an early grave! I discover that a mutation in a taste receptor gene has helped macaques in Japan to become thieves. And in the scientific spark, I talk to Kate Umbers from the University of Western Sydney, who works on a variety of topics, mainly related to understanding the mechanisms, functions and evolution of biological colouration. She tells me what sparked her interest in becoming a scientist.

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A Japanese Macaque munching on fruit (image: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gingiber/)

Quicklinks:

Becky Kilner's Burying Beetle Lab
Burying Beetle paper in eLife
Japanese Macaque taste receptor paper in PLOS One
Kate Umbers' lab page

Aug 2015: ZSL Scientist Patricia Brekke, polar bear welfare at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, and self-medicating ants

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 16 Sep 2015 08:35:00 +0000

This month I hear how a wildlife park in Yorkshire is providing the perfect retirement setting for an old polar bear. I discover that social insects make trips to natures pharmacy to fight infections. And in the scientific spark, I talk to Patricia Brekke from the Zoological Society of London, who tells me about her research on the endangered new Zealand bird the Hihi, and what inspired her to become a scientist.

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Victor is Yorkshire Wildlife Park's polar bear.

He is one of the biggest polar bears in Europe, weighing 500Kg

Quicklinks:

Yorkshire Wildlife Park's Project Polar Bear

Ants medicate to fight disease in the journal Evolution

Patricia Brekke from The Institute of Zoology at the Zoological Society of London

July 2015: Johan Nilson, sea ducks, and horse facial expressions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 10 Sep 2015 20:51:00 +0000

This month I find out about sea ducks who enjoy a rather sophisticated fast food diet of mussels. I discover that horses horse around with lots of different facial expressions. And in the scientific spark, I talk to Johan Nilsson from the university of Lund, who researches the physiology and evolutionary ecology of birds.

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What does this face say?!

Quicklinks:

EquiFACS: The Equine Facial Action Coding System

Elisabeth Varennes' research gate page

Johan Nilsson's research page

June 2015: Lucy Nash from OUP, Dottybacks change colour to hide from prey, and moths that slow their brains down

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 21:54:00 +0000

In this episode I discover that some species of coral reef fish change colour, and they do this to grab a sneaky meal! I also find out how moths find flowers in the dark. And in the scientific spark I talk to Lucy Nash, who is commissioning editor for science at Oxford University Press.

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Quicklinks:
Will Feeney's webpage

Fabio Cortesi's webpage

The dottyback paper in Current Biology

Hovering hawkmoth paper in science

May 2015: Marie Herbenstein, deception and disguise of orchid mantis and owl butterflies with @jamohanlon @JohannaMappes and @SebaDeBona

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 04 Jun 2015 08:55:00 +0000

This month I’m joined by special guest James O’Hanlon from the Australian museum in Sydney for a deception and disguise special. James tells me about his PhD research on mantids that trick bees by mimicking flowers - or do they?! And we discuss a new paper showing that butterfly eyepsots might really be mimicking the eyes of a predator’s own predator. In the Scientific spark I talk to Marie Herbenstein, from Macquarie University in Sydney, who tells me that things might have not gone the way they have if she’d chosen a different research project!

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The owl butterfly Photo Credit: 1funny.com

Quicklinks:

James O'Hanlon's webpage

Predator mimicry, not conspicuousness, explains the efficacy of butterfly eyespots

Marie Herbenstein's webpage

April 2015: Tristram Wyatt, the hormonal bond between humans and their dogs, and predator-prey flight and fight behaviour

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 17:34:00 +0000

This month I discover what black field crickets do when predatory lizards get too close. I find out how humans bond with their canine chums. In the Scientific spark I talk to Tristram Wyatt, from the University of Oxford, who tells me how he became fascinated in all things pheromone-y.

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Borrow my doggy-friend - Milo

Quicklinks:

Patricio Lago's webpage

Oxytocin-gaze positive loop and the coevolution of human-dog bonds

Tristram Wyatt's webpage

March 2015: Shaun Killen, animal personality, and guppy food preferences

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 21:32:00 +0000

This month, I discover that a preference for a particular colour of food can be heritable, and I also have a chat with Niels Dingemanse from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology about how you test animal personality. In the Scientific spark, I talk to Shaun Killen, from the University of Glasgow, who tells me about his inspiration to become a scientist.

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Testing Great tit personality. Image from http://www.mpg.de/617557/pressRelease20100209

Quicklinks:

Great tits: birds with character

Artificial selection for food colour preferences

Shaun Killen's webpage

Naturally speaking podcast

Feb 2015: Damien Farine, penguins who can't taste, and shiny tree swallows

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 15:16:00 +0000

This month, I find out that penguins can’t tell the difference between savoury and sweet. I also chat with Sonia Van Wijk from The Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada, about what makes a male tree swallow attractive to a female who's on the look-out for more than one partner. And in the Scientific spark, I talk to social network whizz Damien Farine, from the University of Oxford, about his path into science.

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Adelie penguins from http://animalsadda.com/adelie-penguin/

Quicklinks:

Sonia Van Wijk's Research Gate page

The penguin taste loss paper in Current Biology

Damien Farine's webpage

Jan 2015: Niels Dingemanse, animal arithmetic, and smooth billed ani alarm calls

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 10 Mar 2015 20:52:00 +0000

This month, animal arithmetic from a research group in Italy who investigated how chickens order numbers – I put Naked Scientist Graihagh Jackson through her paces. Also in the episode, Leanne Grieves from McMaster University tells me what Smooth-billed anis do in response to different types of predators. And Niels Dingemanse, from the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology tells me about his Scientific Spark.

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Credit: Rosa Rugani, University of Padova

Quicklinks:
Leanne Grieves' paper on Ani in Animal Behaviour
Number-space mapping in the newborn chick resembles humans’ mental number line, in Science
Niels Dingemanse's research page

Dec 2014: Innes Cuthill, tropical lizard leaf mimicry, and bird infrasound

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 02 Jan 2015 11:03:00 +0000

Professor Innes Cuthill from the University of Bristol describes his Scientific Spark. Danielle Klomp from the University of New South Wales, tells me about two populations of gliding lizard that have diverged in gliding membrane colouration to match the colours of their local falling leaves, and that mimicking falling leaves is an adaptation that functions to reduce predation by birds. I also find out how birds heard tornadoes coming and fled one day ahead.

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Falling leaf mimic - Bornean gliding lizard, Draco cornutus

Quicklinks:

Danielle Klomp's paper in Biology Letters

Danielle Klomp's blog

Tornadic Storm Avoidance Behavior in Breeding Songbirds - Current Biology

Innes Cuthill's Camo Lab

Nov 2014: The Wiltschkos and magnetic navigation in birds

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Dec 2014 21:19:00 +0000

A sensory ecology bonanza! Professor Wolfgang and Roswita Wiltschko, the husband and wife team who were the first to show that birds have a magnetic sense and use the earth’s magnetic field to orientate, talk about their Scientific Spark. Tanya Kleinhappel tells me how fish sniff out friends from foe. I discover how bats jam their competitor’s sonar.

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Bats jam each others echolocation calls when competing for prey

Quicklinks:

Tanja Kleinhappel's paper on Diet-mediated social networks in shoaling fish

Corcoran's and Conner's Science paper - Bats jamming bats: Food competition through sonar interference

Wolfgang and Roswitha Wiltschko's research page

Oct 2014: Ben Sheldon, rock goby camouflage, and lizard imitation

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 17:27:00 +0000

Professor Ben Sheldon, who is the Luc Hoffman Chair of field ornithology and director of the Edward Grey Institute of field ornithology at the University of Oxford tells me what sparked his interest in birds and gives advice to young scientists. Alice Lown tells me about an unassuming little fish commonly found in rock pools around Britain, that is a master of camouflage. I discover that imitation isn’t just the highest form of flattery, but is also an indicator of an animal’s learning prowess.

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Three individuals are shown on the left having been placed on a black background, and then the same individuals are shown on the right after being on a white background.

Quicklinks:
Alice Lown's research page
Alice Lown's paper
Anna Wilkinson's paper
Ben Sheldon's research page

Sept 2014: Leigh Simmons, stickleback personality, and caterpillars with hats

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 10 Oct 2014 10:17:00 +0000

Dieter Hochuli from the University of Sydney, tells me what life’s like for a caterpillar, and how one has evolved a cool mechanism to avoid being attacked. I find out how personality might influence your decision making, if you’re a stickleback. And in the scientific spark, I talk to Leigh Simmons who is managing editor of the scientific journal Behavioral Ecology, and Professor at, and Director of, the Centre for Evolutionary Biology at the University of Western Australia, about his inspiration to become a scientist.

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The gum leaf skeletoniser caterpillar is very fashion-forward with its approach to headgear. Photo: Nuytsia@tas

Quicklinks:
Dieter Hochuli's Research Gate page
Diamanto Mamuneas' paper
Diamanto Mamuneas' research page
Leigh Simmons' research page

Aug 2014: Marlene Zuk, hummingbird taste perception, and magpie thieves

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 15:37:00 +0000

In this 1st birthday episode, I find out about some more avian criminals of the animal kingdom. I learn that most birds can’t taste sugar, but hummingbirds can, and I learn how. And in the Scientific Spark, I talk to Marlene Zuk, Professor of behavioural and evolutionary biology at the University of Minnesota. Together with Bill Hamilton, Marlene proposed the good genes hypothesis of sexual selection
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Quicklinks:
Maude Baldwin's Science paper on Hummingbird sweet taste page
Prof. Marlene Zuk's webpage
Dr Toni Shephard's paper on magpies
Crab Exeter on twitter

July 2014: Isabella Rossellini and mammas, spider mimicry, and secret communication in horses

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 08 Aug 2014 20:38:00 +0000

This month over 1000 scientists flocked to New York’s Hunter College to attend the meeting of the International Society for Behavioural Ecology or ISBE. In the coming months I will be featuring interviews from researchers who attended the meeting, and this month, my first interviewee is Tom White from Macquarie university in Australia, who told me about spider he studies that is very good at attracting bees and flies. I also find out about a secret communication channel in horses, and in the Scientific Spark, I met actress and model and new student of animal behaviour, Isabella Rossellini, and asked her how she made the leap from the big screen to studying the science of behaviour.
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Quicklinks:
Tom White's twitter page
Tom White's webpage
Current Biology paper on horse communication webpage
Isabella Rossellini's mammas

June 2014: Robert Hinde, and an antipredator defence special

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 08 Jul 2014 13:00:00 +0000

Professor Robert Hinde, the Emeritus Royal Society Research Professor of Zoology at the University of Cambridge is this month's Scientific Spark. Robert talks about the early days of ornithology research just after the war, and his memories of David Lack and Niko Tinbergen.
The rest of the episode is an anti-predator defence special! I talk to Jolyon Troscianko from project nightjar about his research on the camouflage of eggs and chicks of African birds. I also find out about an animal that dupes it’s predators by looking like an evolutionary ghost.

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A Mozambique nightjar from one of @projectnightjar nests in Zambia.

Quicklinks:
Project nightjar's twitter page
Project nightjar's webpage
Christopher Akcali and David Pfennig's paper on snake mimicry
Professor Robert Hinde

May 2014: Neil Metcalfe, ZSL's hihi, and cuckoo - hawk mimicry

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 03 Jun 2014 20:30:00 +0000

This month, the masters of disguise: I find out about an animal that can mimic two different species, for two entirely different reasons. I learn about a colourful bird from New Zealand called the Hihi, who’s very good at eating its requisite 7 portions of fruit and veg a day. And in the Scientific Spark, I hear from Neil Metcalfe, Professor of Behavioural Ecology at the University of Glasgow, about what made him interested in research and how he came to study for a PhD on seabird ecology.

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Male Hihi. Image courtesy of Matt Gribble ZSL

http://www.zsl.org/conservation/regions/oceania/hihi-conservation-in-new-zealand

Quicklinks:
Thanh Lan's paper on cuckoo-hawk mimicry
Hihi conservation webpage
Neil Metacalfe's webpage

April 2014: David Sherry and marsh tits, zebra stripes, and Arabian babblers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 01 May 2014 08:16:00 +0000

David Sherry from the Western University in Canada tells me what inspired him to study the hoarding behavior of birds, in the Scientific Spark. Oded Keynan explains the benefits to having offspring stick around for an extended period of time. I also find out why zebras have stripes, and why Rudyard Kipling was wrong!

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Zebras and their stripes

from https://www.flickr.com/photos/mobilevirgin/

Quicklinks:
Oded Keynan's webpage
Tim Caro's webpage
Tim's zebra paper in Nature communications
David Sherry's webpage

March 2014: Temple Grandin, autism, weaver birds, and tadpole social learning

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Mar 2014 10:27:00 +0000

The social lives of animals is this month's theme. I talk to Damien Farine from the Edward Grey Institute at Oxford University, who tells me how weaver birds decide how many house mates they want to live with. I discover how being hungry can affect how information spreads through a group of tadpoles. And in the scientific spark Temple Grandin, Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University, a best-selling author, an autistism activist, a consultant to the livestock industry on animal behavior, and designer of the "hug box", a device to calm those with autism, tells me what inspired her to be a scientist.

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Quicklinks:

Damien Farine's webpage
Damien's paper on weavers
Tadpole social learning, in Animal behaviour
Temple Grandin's webpage

Feb 2014: Kirsty MacLeod and meerkats, birds and airplanes, and New Zealand conservation with James Russell

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 05:02:00 +0000

Meerkats may look cute and cuddly, but this month, Kirsty MacLeod from Cambridge University tells me that for some, life isn’t as picture perfect as it seems. I find out about the US Department of Agriculture’s latest research on the quest for safer skies. And, in the Scientific Spark I ask James Russell, a conservation biologist from the University of Aukland in New Zealand, what inspired him to research invasive species biology, and what the hardest tasks are in trying to save New Zealand’s endangered species.

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Photo by Flickr user Jon Pinder

Quicklinks:

Kirsty MacLeod's webpage
Turkey Vulture paper in Plos One
Travis DeVault's webpage
James Russell's webpage

Jan 2014: Lesley Morrell, prairie dogs, and stinky parrots

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 20 Jan 2014 03:42:00 +0000

This month, I speak to Milla Mihailova from Deakin University in Australia, who tells me about parrots with a particularly pungent stench. I get up close and personal with some black tailed prairie dogs, to find out why they can’t help following the leader. And, in the Scientific Spark I ask Lesley Morrell (@biosciencemum), from the University of Hull what made her want to be a biologist, and how she came to work on why animals live in groups, rather than enjoying the single life.

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A black-tailed prairie dog jump-yipping. Credit: Darlene Stack

Quicklinks:
Milla Mihailova's webpage
Prairie dog paper
Jim Hare's personal webpage
Lesley Morrell's University webpage

Dec 2013: Steve Jones, slime mold, and spiders that mimic ants

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 03:38:00 +0000

This month, we leave backbones behind, for an invertebrate and protist special. I speak to Chris Reid from the the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, USA, about an ancient single cell animal that looks like a glob of luminous yellow gunge, that doesn't have a brain but may be smarter than human beings. I find out about a double deception in the animal kingdom: how an ant-mimicking spider sends misleading visual and chemical cues to different predators. And, in the scientific spark I ask Steve Jones, Emeritus Professor of genetics at University College London what made him want to be a scientist, and how he came to be one of the world’s experts on snail genetics

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An ant-mimicking spider Peckhamia image courtesy of Continis

Quicklinks:
Chris Reid's webpage
Divya Uma's paper on ant-mimicry
Steve Jones' column in the Telegraph

Nov 2013: Nicky Clayton and clever crows, and mice that eat scorpions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 12:51:00 +0000

Nicky Clayton joins me in this month's Beepcast, telling me what sparked her interest in bird intelligence, and how she mixes science with the art of dance. I learn about a mouse with an unusual superpower: immunity to the sting of a scorpion. I also interview Culum Brown of Macquarie University, Australia, who studies how young rainbow fish sniff out lurking predators.

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A southern grasshopper mouse eats the Arizona bark scorpion that it has just killed. Credit: Ashlee and Matthew Rowe

Quicklinks:
Culum Brown's webpage
Ashlee Rowe's webpage
Nicky Clayton's webpage

Oct 2013: Tim Birkhead, barn swallows, and coal tits who hide seeds

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 04 Oct 2013 12:46:00 +0000

In October's BEEPcast Tim Birkhead tells me what ignited his interest in ornithology and sexual selection. I explore why male barn swallows don't act their age when courting females. In the third of my interviews from the Behavior 2013 conference, I speak to Tom Smulders of Newcastle University who explains what Coal tits do with unpalatable seeds.
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Barn swallows coutesy of Jim Benson http://www.flickr.com/photos/j_benson/

Quicklinks:
Tom Smulder's webpage
Masaru Hasegawa's paper
Tim Birkhead's webpage

Sept 2013: Amy Cuddy and power posing, honeyguides, and bower bird cognition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 09:47:00 +0000

Amy Cuddy joins me in this month's Beepcast, telling me what ignited her interest in how people judge and influence each other. I explore the darker side of bird behaviour, looking at the sneaky tactics African honeyguides use to trick other birds into raising their young. In the second of my interviews from the Behavior 2013 conference, I speak to Jess Isden of Exeter University who explains what female bowerbirds look for in a male’s fancy display.

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Eggs used by Claire Spottiswoode. Host = little bee-eater eggs. Control = little bee-eater egg from a different nest. Honeyguide = honeyguide egg. Experimental= egg from a completely different bird, like a dove. Image: Claire Spottiswoode

Quicklinks:
Claire Spottiswoode's paper
Jes Isden's paper
Amy Cuddy's TED talk

Aug 2013: Louise Barrett, peacock eye tracking, and caterpillar eyespots

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 08:17:00 +0000

In the first episode I dig into peahen perception to find out what they look for in their ideal mate. I'll also present the first of a series of interviews from the Behaviour 2013 conference. I speak to Tom Hossie from Carleton University, Canada. Plus in the Scientific Spark I ask Louise Barrett, from the University of Lethbridge in Canada, what sparked her scientific career.

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Peahen wearing eye-tracking equipment in Yorzinski et al's study.

Quicklinks:
Yorzisnki's paper
Caterpillar Eyespots: Tom Hossie's blog
More info on Louise Barrett