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#30: Dr. Jaret Daniels - Butterflies, Creating Habitat in Overlooked Landscapes, and Leveraging Creative Outreach Sep 21, 2021

Show notes

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 NOTES
Dr. Daniel's Books
Backyard Bugs: An Identification Guide to Common Insects, Spiders, and More
Insects & Bugs for Kids: An Introduction to Entomology
Native Plant Gardening for Birds, Bees & Butterflies: A series covering the Upper Midwest, Southeast, South (coming soon)
Other Links
Plasterer 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 History
The Xerces Society

#29: Adam Kranz - The Amazing World of Plant Galls Sep 14, 2021

Show notes

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.

Each 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 NOTES
Links
Biodiversity Heritage Library
Bugguide
Eiseman’s blog BugTracks
iNaturalist Gall Projects: California | North America
Books
Plant Galls of the Western United States, by Ronald Russo - HIGHLY recommended
Tracks and Signs of Insects and Other Invertebrates by Charley Eiseman - HIGHLY recommended
Weld Cynipid Books: Free! See the full show notes
Podcasts
Charley Eiseman
Dr. Doug Tallamy

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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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!

#28: Milkweeds with Dr. Carrie Olson-Manning and Sydney Kreutzmann Sep 07, 2021

Show notes

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 Here
Links and References
Past Episodes Mentioned

Books and Resources
Monarchs and Milkweed by Anurag Agrawal, also available as an audiobook!
Monarch Joint Venture - a resource mentioned by Dr. Olson-Manning
What Milkweed To Plant - PDF showing which species to plan by region of the USA

People, Organizations, and Other Things
Dr. 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 threatened
Tropical Milkweed - is NOT recommended by Xerces Society. We discuss this briefly in the episode.

Note: links to books are affiliate links

#27: Brandon Kong - California Tiger Salamanders, Rattlesnakes, and How To Herp Aug 24, 2021

Show notes

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 NOTES
People, Organizations and Things
Chytrid Fungus - article about this destructive pathogen that threatens global amphibians
Enormous congregations of garter snakes in Manitoba, and a video
Life 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 Boback
Books and Resources
California Herps - website for herps in California
Field 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 Holbrook
i3s Spot - Software Brandon uses to identify specific individual tiger salamanders by photo

#26: Dr. Doug Tallamy on What Makes Oaks the Most Important Tree Aug 10, 2021

Show notes

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 NOTES
MORE LINKS
California Native Plant Society CalScape native plant finder
Kenneth V. Rosenberg - lead author of study showing 3 billion birds have been lost
Michelle Alfandari - Partnered with Doug to create Homegrown National Park
Sudden Oak Death
Tammany Baumgarten - advocate for the "10 step program" to make insect problems disappear

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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#25: Danielle Husband - Wetland Systems, Playas, and Dragonflies! Jul 27, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is Danielle Husband. Danielle is a graduate student studying dragonflies and damselflies at the McIntyre Lab at Texas Tech University. In particular, she is studying the west Texas playas, salinas, and urban catchments, and their suitability for odonates.
Today’s episode is full of great topics. We discuss the importance of wetlands in general, and drill down into the specifics of the semi-arid environment of west Texas. The playas and salinas of west Texas are fascinatingly unique, and also play a critical role in the groundwater system of the Ogallala Aquifer.
The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the largest groundwater sources in the world, and critical for much of the United State’s agriculture. Aquifers are being drawn down throughout the world, and the Ogallala is no exception. Playas and other wetlands and waterways “recharge” these aquifers, but is it enough to offset the extraction? Danielle describes the challenges of recharge and aquifer depletion.
We then dive into Danielle’s primary area of research - odonates. She covers the basics of odonata life history, including some differences between damselflies and dragonflies. And did you know some dragonfly species are migratory? Danielle also describes how she constructed the odonate surveying protocol she uses in her field research, some of the interesting discoveries she has made, and helpful tips for naturalists to find and identify dragonflies.
It was a wide-ranging and fun discussion that I hope you enjoy as much as I did.
Find Danielle on Instagram.
People, Organizations, and Websites
Dragonfly Pond Watch Project - Monitoring program for migratory dragonflies that anyone with regular pond or wetland access can participate in.
Dragonfly Society of the Americas
Golden Gate Raptor Observatory
McIntyre Lab at Texas Tech University
Odonata Central
Books and Other Things
IUCN Global Wetland Outlook Report - from 2018
Dragonflies and Damselflies of the West by Dennis Paulson – one of the best field guides I’ve found - a bit large for the field but worth it
Dragonflies and Damselflies of the East by Dennis Paulson – the Eastern USA version of the above
Dragonflies and Damselflies: A Natural History - by Dennis Paulson
Ogallala Blue: Water and Life on the Great Plains - by William Ashworth
Playas of the Great Plains - by Loren Smith (University of Texas Press)
Urban Areas Create Refugia for Odonates in a Semi-Arid Region - by Danielle M. Husband and Nancy E. McIntyre

#24: Justin Angle - On The Fireline - Wildfires in the Western USA Jul 12, 2021

Show notes

"Just because it's a view you've seen your whole life doesn't mean it's a normal, healthy forest."
See full show notes here, with links to all topics discussed.
My guest today is Dr. Justin Angle, creator of the podcast series “Fireline”, which dives into the realities of wildfire in the western USA.
Justin is Associate Professor of Marketing at The University of Montana in Missoula. He earned his Ph.D. and MBA from the Michael G. Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. Justin also produces his own interview podcast called A New Angle.
Today we focus on the “Fireline” podcast series, released earlier this year through Montana Public Radio. If you haven’t heard it, the seven episodes cover different aspects of wildfire. The series presents multiple points of view with a goal to demonstrate that the topic is complicated and nuanced, and we all have a role to play in finding solutions.
Today, we discuss many of Fireline's topics, including:
- How wildfire impacts can be both positive and negative, depending on perspective and context.
- The complexities of how years of wildfire policy and suppression have affected fire behavior, and how rising temperatures catalyzes more and larger fires.
- The growth of the Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) and how that creates more negative human impacts.
- Relatively recent research showing that wind-blown embers can be a primary driver to fire spread and a primary risk to homes - not the towering flame front that we often envision. This changes how communities and homeowners need to prepare, which quickly turns into a sociology problem more than a science problem.
Any discussion of wildfire is incomplete without investigating human history and influence on wildfire, and Fireline covers indigenous use of fire through the perspective of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, as well as some fascinating anthropological research.
We also review Justin’s atypical route to creating the show, and the process and partners he engaged to make it a reality. Fireline was produced at the peak of the pandemic, requiring Justin and his team to pivot multiple times.
You may also be interested in my interview with Rick Halsey of the California Chaparral Institute, where we took a deep dive into wildfire behavior, especially in chaparral habitats.
Catching Fire by Richard Wrangham
Fire in Paradise - on Netflix
Life with Fire - wildfire podcast
Fireline's Collaborators: Jeff Hull, Nick Mott, Victor Yvellez, Josh Burnham, Aj Williams
Cathy Whitlock
Jim See
Kimi Barrett
Libby and Alex Metcalf
Lily Clarke
Richard Wrangham
Steve Pyne - fire historian with several excellent books
Tony Incashola Jr and Sr - Father and Son
Wildfire Adapted Missoula

#23: Crossover! Wasp Ecology with Heather Holm, from the Backyard Ecology Podcast Jun 28, 2021

Show notes

This episode is a special one that warrants a special introduction.
Today, you are going to hear all about Wasps with award winning author Heather Holm. But rather than me interviewing Heather, this is actually an episode from the Backyard Ecology podcast. Shannon Trimboli, the creator of Backyard Ecology, and I have become fans of each other’s shows. We decided it would be fun, and hopefully valuable for our audiences, to share an episode of each other’s podcast.
I love the concept of Backyard Ecology and want to promote the importance of backyard habitats, as I’m sure you all have picked up on. Shannon interviews authors and specialists on everything from fireflies to backyard vernal pools. Shannon is located in the eastern USA, so her guests often focus a bit more on eastern ecology, which compliments my guests which are often in the western USA.
Shannon is also a beekeeper, author, public speaker, and owner of a native plant nursery. You can see her upcoming events and details on her public speaking on her website, https://shannontrimboli.com/.
As for this episode, as I mentioned, Shannon interviewed Heather Holm, who recently published the book Wasps: Their Biology, Diversity, and Role as Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants.
Wasps get a bad rap in many circles due to a few aggressive species. However, there are actually more species of wasps than bees, the majority are solitary, many are tiny, and they all have fascinating life histories.
What I love about this episode is the deep dive into some of these fascinating life histories. You’ll learn about how they hunt, how they create and provision their nests, and much more.
If you enjoy this crossover episode, please consider subscribing to Backyard Ecology. Also, check out the show notes naturesarchive.com for direct links to Shannon’s full show notes and her website.
Find Shannon on Facebook, and Backyard Ecology on Facebook.
People and Organizations Discussed
Backyard Ecology podcast
Shannon Trimboli - author, beekeeper, public speaker, native plant nursery owner, and creator of the Backyard ecology podcast
Books and Other Things
Wasps: Their Biology, Diversity, and Role as Beneficial Insects and Pollinators of Native Plants.

#22: Project Terra - Wildlife Tracking in Your Own Backyard with Scott Whittle and Mike Lanzone Jun 14, 2021

Show notes

My guests today are Scott Whittle and Mike Lanzone of Project Terra and Cellular Tracking Technologies.

Scott is a bird expert and author. His passion for the natural world has led to co-authoring The Warbler Guide, the Warbler Guide App, and contributing to the Birdgenie bird song identification app.
Mike is a Research Biologist turned technologist, and is the Founder and CEO of CTT - Cellular Tracking Technologies, a leading manufacturer and innovator of wildlife trackers using various cellular, satellite and radio technologies.

We start off discussing CTT and their interesting origin story, attempting to identify if eastern Golden Eagles would be impacted by proposed wind power facilities. CTT has advanced the technology significantly, creating the “Internet of Wildlife”, allowing larger animals like eagles to be “repeaters” of data from smaller songbirds, overcoming limitations of how large of systems that these smaller birds can carry.

We also discuss a few of CTT’s conservation success stories, such as Project SNOWstorm, which tracks Snowy Owls.
Our primary topic is an exciting new project called Terra. Terra intends to dramatically expand wildlife tracking in the form of a system that you can place on your own property.

Terra is intended to help people connect with nature, while simultaneously filling in crucial gaps in wildlife data, such as bird song variations, details about migratory flight paths, and even information about other animal vocalizations such as cicadas, crickets and frogs.

Terra expects to use nocturnal flight calls (NFCs) to help identify migratory bird paths and volumes, so we spend some time talking about NFCs, and how important these unique, often single note calls are.

Terra is in late stage development, and has launched a kickstarter to help get it over the finish line. We discuss how Terra works, the technology inside, what a corresponding app might look like, privacy, and speculate on many potential research topics that will result from a network of Terra devices.

If you are interested in Terra, please check out the Kickstarter, which ends on July 1. We discuss exactly what a kickstarter is in the show, but the short story is kickstarter is basically how new ideas such as Terra get community funding, and are thus critically important for the success of projects such as this. And by backing projects on kickstarter, you get perks to help make it worth your while.
Follow Nature's Archive on Instagram
Links To Topics Discussed
Project Terra Kickstarter
Bringing Nature Home - by Doug Tallamy

The Warbler Guide - Innovative field guide to warblers that includes spectrogram visualizations of vocalizations. Co-authored by Scott Whittle and Tom Stephenson
Macaulay Library - Cornell Lab's wildlife media archive

oldbird.org by Bill Evans, considered the resource for NFCs (Nocturnal Flight Calls)
Andrew Farnsworth - ornithologist at Cornell Lab known for migration research and use of radar tracking

Casey Halverson - Mike recruited Casey to help develop the first cell-based GPS trackers

#21: John "Griff" Griffith on Redwood Ecosystems, Hosting Animal Planet's Wild Jobs, and Being a "Solutionary" Jun 07, 2021

Show notes

My guest today is John Griffith, or better known as Griff.
Griff is a Natural and Cultural Resources Interpreter for California State Parks, and host of the Animal Planet show “Wild Jobs”. Prior to that, Griff was a long time crew supervisor in the California Conservation Corps, where he and his crew restored habitat throughout Northern California.
Griff’s love of nature and infectious personality make him a natural educator. He immerses himself in his projects and parks he supports, learning the ecology and history, and encouraging diversity in his programs. You have to check out his Facebook Live weekly videos from Humboldt Redwoods State Park to see how charismatic and on-point he is.
Griff joined me from some of the last remaining in-tact old growth redwood forest. And note, that while he works for California State Parks, in this episode he is off duty, not representing state parks.
In our wide-ranging conversation, we discuss what makes old growth redwoods so magical. If you haven’t seen redwoods before, just think "Star Wars Return of the Jedi Forest Moon of Endor", which was filmed in this area!
Our discussion of giant trees takes a surprising turn to prairies - yes, there are productive prairies in the redwoods. Griff tells of an exciting elk encounter he had at one of them, that thankfully we can laugh about.
We spend a lot of time talking about Griff’s approach to conservation content creation, including specific approaches that you and I can use. We get into details about Griff’s Animal Planet show, “Wild Jobs”, which is a must-see!
We wrap up discussing the importance of treating our properties like habitat. In typical Griff style, he uniquely and entertainingly makes this point.
If you haven't seen Griff before, I promise that you'll walk away a fan. Be sure to check out his Facebook and YouTube!
FULL SHOW NOTES
Books, Places - Book links are affiliate links
Before the Wilderness: Environmental Management By Native Californians, Kat Anderson
Bald Hills
Nature's Best Hope - by Doug Tallamy. Also Bringing Nature Home
Mattole Road - "The Most Epic Road on the Planet"
Wild Jobs. Griff hosted this show, and recommends Wounded Reptile Rehab with the Phoenix Herpetological Society to start
People, Organizations
Animal Tracks - from Wild Jobs Episode 1
California Conservation Corps
Chris Wilmers UC Santa Cruz Lab - famous for their Puma project
Gibbon Conservation Center
Griff on the Kelly Clarkson Show
Humboldt Redwoods State Park
Jose Gonzalez, Latino Outdoors
Ojai Raptor Center
Reed Noss, whom Griff will be interviewing
Wood River Wolf Project

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