Episode 66 - Food webs

This week the Natural selection say goodbye.. at least for now. In this our final episode, we touched on some of our favourite topics or subjects that we haven’t discussed in previous episodes. We learned about some extinct species and some species that have reappeared after being thought extinct. We got meta and investigated the world of memes both in humans and other animals. We also tested our knowledge with not one but two quizzes this week! Listen now to see if you can answer some questions related to our past episodes. And Finally from everyone here at the Natural Selection, we would like to say a huge thank you to anyone who has listened to any of our episodes or shared our podcast with someone. To anyone who has gotten in contact with us, thank you it means so much to know people are enjoying what we do. We couldn’t have done it without you. Thanks for listening and goodbye for now. animals and subjects discussed in this episode include: lesser spectral tarsier  (Tarsius pumilus), also known as the mountain tarsier or the pygmy tarsier Dusky Flying Fox (Pteropus brunneus) Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) Megalodon (Otodus megalodon) Simeulue hill mynas (Gracula religiosa miotera) tree lobster (Dryococelus australis) commonly known as the Lord Howe Island stick insect memes Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás Chelicerata, Myriapoda, Pancrustacea/ Crustaceans & Hexapods Thrips (order Thysanoptera) Coleoptera - beetles Lepidoptera butterflies Hemiptera – true bugs Hymenoptera – wasps bees and ants Diapause Rodents, mustelids, armadillos, marsupials, roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) Quiz Episode 9: parasites  Ophiocordyceps unilateralis –fungus that makes ants into zombies – Episode 13: metamorphosis Episode 14: myths Animal paradoxa - Including Antelope, Pelicans, Deathwatch beetle (make a ticking noise associated with impending death), Barnacle goose (believed to grow from rotten wood thrown out to sea) and shrinking frog or paradoxical frog (Pseudis paradoxa) as well as dragons, hydras, Borometz (plant like a sheep - might be cotton, such as in The Travels of Sir John Mandeville) Episode 19: brains dung beetles use the milky way to navigate Episode 28: fossils – coprolite- Fossil poo brontosaurus Ep 33: blood - Ocellated ice fish - Horseshoe crab Ep 67: blue - the mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus) Blue poison dart Ep 29: beetles – luciferin is a group of light emitting compounds that make fireflies and other bioluminescent animals glow Ep 36: DNA - marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus)

The Natural Selection is back! This week we talk all about why The Ordovician blew a little hot and cold, why the great dying was great news for us, and which pigeon once blocked out the sun. In this episode we talk about: Common Sydney octopuses (Octopus tetricus) jacobin hummingbirds (Florisuga mellivora) Titanoboa (Titanoboa cerrejonensis) Passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)

The Natural Selection is back, and this week we are talking all about beaks! Listen now and learn why you shouldn't squeeze pliers with jelly in your hands, how to calm down a goose, and which bird is better than a speeding train. In This episode we talk about: Flesh Flies - Sarcophaga similis Avocets - Pied Avocets Recurvirostra avosetta Oviraptors - Oviraptor philoceratops Sauropods Kingfishers Cephalopods - Giant Squids, Colosal squids, Humboldt's Squid, Blue Ringed Octopus. Geese - Anatidae, Anseriformes and the fossil Presbyornis

So, we had a technical malfunction this week with the recording, but our episode all about beaks will be back next week! Until then, please enjoy this special out-take from a previous episode.

Join us as this week The Natural Selection Presents... Butterflies! (and moths). In this episode, we learned all about some beautiful butterflies and marvelous moths. We explored coevolution with flowers, dazzling displays, and some butterflies brought back from the brink of extinction. Listen now to find out more. Thanks for listening and please like and share if you enjoyed this episode. Species mentioned in this episode are listed below. Mallards Fruit flies Anole lizards – lizards in the genus Anolis Fixed front fangs -Taipans - snakes in the genus Oxyuranus in the elapid family Crab eating water snake – (Fordonia leucobalia) Lepidoptera Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae) Painted lady (Vanessa cardui) Morgan's sphinx moth (Xanthopan morganii) Large Blue (Phengaris arion) Red ant (Myrimica sabuleti) European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) Silk worm (Bombyx mori) Wild silk moth (Bombyx mandarina) - The butterfly mentioned by Nabakov in the excerpt from Speak, memory Anarta cordigera

The Natural Selection returns to talk about Grasslands! Listen now and learn how to name a Gorilla, How high a bison can jump, and where to find a cheetah. In This Episode We talk about: News: Giraffes Dung Beetles Microgastrinae Wasps Theme: Poaceae/Grasses - Wheat, Rice and Bamboo Insects of the steppe and prairie - Beetles, ants, mites, springtails, flies and earthworms. The Great Migration - Blue Wildebeest, Zebra Grasslands of Iran - Asiatic Cheetah, manul cat, lynx, wolves, common fox, cape hare, goitered gazelle and Latifi's viper. Sapiens: Homo Sapiens and wheat.

This week the Natural Selection were seeing red and exploring another colour we see all over the natural world. We discussed the IUCN red list and how it helps policy changes. We explored some brightly pigmented animals and some animals that have just gotten too much sun. Listen now to find out more. Please like and share if you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for listening!

This week the Natural Selection found out it's not easy being green.. well not if you’re a mammal anyway. This week we talked all about the colour green and how and why some animals and most plants are green. Why aren’t there any green mammals? How does chlorophyll work? What is that green bird in Hyde park? Listen now to find out more! Next week we're going to take a small break but we'll be back on the 3rd of August. Thanks for listening

The Natural Selection is back - And this week we are a bit blue. But don't worry, rather than being rude, or sad, we have found our favourite blue things from nature. Listen now and learn why you might put make up on a bird's foot, why the sky is not like the sea, and why a unique singing voice can make you famous.

This week The Natural Selection got tangled up in the complex world of food webs. From the global ocean food web to the complex biota in a termite's gut, understanding food webs is vital to allow us to recognise the impact we can have on them. In this week's episode, we explored why an ecologist was throwing starfish in the 60s and how wolves brought more songbirds back to Yellowstone. Listen now to find out more. Please follow and share if you enjoyed this episode.