Welcome to ESA's podcast index! ESA produces three regular podcasts: "Beyond the Frontier," featuring interviews with Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment contributors; "The Ecologist Goes to Washington," which will interview scientists involved in ecological policy issues; and "Field Talk," which focuses on authors of articles in Ecology, Ecological Applications, and Ecological Monographs. Episodes of the podcast programs will be posted on this page as they become available, so check back often! Or, click the "Podcast Subscription Instructions" link at the bottom right of this page to find out how to subscribe and receive new podcasts when they become available. Thanks for listening!
Scientists are coming to recognize that, across both space and time, everything is connected – and that this connectivity may become more pronounced in the era of globalization. With everything from dust to infectious diseases exchanged freely among distant locations, how can we keep track of the complex changes that the planet is experiencing? In this episode of Beyond the Frontier, we talk with Dr. Debra Peters about the June Special Issue of Frontiers on continental-scale ecology in an increasingly connected world.
Ecologists Connect the Dots [8:40m]:
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Music for these podcasts was kindly provided by Dr. Nicholas Gotelli. For more music from Dr. Gotelli, click
here.
June 2nd, 2008
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444 views
Dr. Norm Christensen, ESA’s President, recounts how he first became involved in policy and offers his personal perspectives on how ESA can best navigate policy issues while remaining true to science. He outlines the major ecological issues that the Society will likely tackle in the future and doles out words of wisdom for scientists interested in applying their research in the policy arena.
The Ecologist Goes to Washington [8:08m]:
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Music for these podcasts was kindly provided by Dr. Nicholas Gotelli. For more music from Dr. Gotelli, click
here.
May 9th, 2008
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828 views
Timothy Ragen, Executive Director of the Marine Mammal Commission, talks about a special issue of Ecological Applications which focuses on arctic marine mammals and climate change. The Commission supported publication of the Supplement issue, which features a cross-section of experts offering their insights to the future of arctic marine mammals. Ragen talks about which species may be most vulnerable to climate change.
Arctic Marine Mammal [5:44m]:
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Music for these podcasts was kindly provided by Dr. Nicholas Gotelli. For more music from Dr. Gotelli, click
here.
April 23rd, 2008
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1,014 views
In this episode of Beyond the Frontier, we talk with Thomas Whittier about his recent Frontiers paper, “A calcium-based invasion risk assessment for zebra and quagga mussels (Dreissena spp)”. Zebra and quagga mussels are notorious freshwater invasive species that require calcium to build their shells. As Mr. Whittier explains, areas of the US that have low concentrations of calcium in their freshwaters may therefore be resistant to invasion by these species.
Mapping Mussels [10:20m]:
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Music for these podcasts was kindly provided by Dr. Nicholas Gotelli. For more music from Dr. Gotelli, click
here.
April 22nd, 2008
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1,099 views
In this episode of Beyond the Frontier, we talk with Dr. Ricardo Rozzi about his recent Frontiers paper, “Changing lenses to assess biodiversity: patterns of species richness in sub-Antarctic plants and implications for global conservation”. Dr. Rozzi and his coauthors show that non-vascular plants increase in diversity toward the poles – in marked contrast to vascular plants, which decrease in diversity toward the poles. He argues that we’ve overlooked this important pattern because biodiversity research is too often focused on large, charismatic species, like vertebrates and flowering plants. A new reserve in southern Chile aims to promote public awareness of a non-vascular plant biodiversity hotspot, to introduce tourists to these “miniature forests”, and to change the lens through which we view global biodiversity.
Seeing the forest for the liverworts [10:20m]:
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Music for these podcasts was kindly provided by Dr. Nicholas Gotelli. For more music from Dr. Gotelli, click
here.
March 20th, 2008
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1,199 views
An interview with Rob Pringle, a graduate student in ecology at Stanford University. Pringle authored a paper in the Ecological Society of America’s January 2008 edition of Ecology. While working at the Mpala Research Center in Kenya, East Africa, Pringle found that geckos were thriving in areas where elephants had torn up trees and shrubs. The resulting crevices offered the lizards hiding places. In contrast, undamaged areas harbored scarcely any geckos. By looking at such ‘ecosystem engineering,’ Pringle and his collaborators hope to gain a better understanding of how the African savanna functions.
Field Talk: Elephant Engineers:
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Music for these podcasts was kindly provided by Dr. Nicholas Gotelli. For more music from Dr. Gotelli, click
here.
March 4th, 2008
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977 views
Though it is the cornerstone of modern biology, the theory of evolution is not universally taught in US public schools. In this episode of Beyond the Frontier, we talk with Professor Kristi Bowman about her recent Frontiers paper, “The evolution battles in high-school science classes: who is teaching what?” Professor Bowman documents the frequency of evolution, intelligent design, and creationism instruction in representative states and examines how these patterns vary with the strength of state educational standards, political climate, and region.
Beyond the Frontier [15:20m]:
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Music for these podcasts was kindly provided by Dr. Nicholas Gotelli. For more music from Dr. Gotelli, click
here.
February 22nd, 2008
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1,147 views
An interview with Jason Holmberg, an IT professional, who teamed up with marine scientist Brad Norman and astronomer Zaven Arzoumanian to devise a method and framework to more effectively gauge whale shark populations. The trio co-authored a paper in the Ecological Society of America’s January 2008 journal Ecological Applications. Holmberg explains how he became an “extreme volunteer” with ECOCEAN, a non-profit association dedicated to marine conservation, and was able to apply his computer programming skills to tackling the challenge of measuring whale shark populations. Whale sharks are known as “the gentle giants” of the oceans since they weigh as much as 20 tons yet eat tiny zooplankton.
Field Talk: Photo-Monitoring Whale Sharks [11:29m]:
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Music for these podcasts was kindly provided by Dr. Nicholas Gotelli. For more music from Dr. Gotelli, click
here.
February 21st, 2008
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989 views
A discussion with Dr. Alan Mark about his recent Frontiers paper, “Maximizing water yield with indigenous non-forest vegetation: a New Zealand perspective”.
Visit www.frontiersinecology.org
Beyond the Frontier [16:35m]:
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Music for these podcasts was kindly provided by Dr. Nicholas Gotelli. For more music from Dr. Gotelli, click
here.
January 22nd, 2008
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456 views
