Ashes and Adaptations

Welcome to a very special final episode of Ashes and Adaptations . To wrap up this mini-series, we will be discussing fire ecology with Jamie Woolet and Sarah Hettema. Jamie is a PhD candidate in the Department of Forest and Rangeland Stewardship at Colorado State University. Her research spans from the impact of wildfires on soil composition to how changing fire regimes affect avian communities....

The eucalyptus is an iconic species across Australia. Join us as we explore what makes them so unique in fire ecology. In this episode of Ashes and Adaptations, we'll be exploring epicormic budding, flammability, and serotiny in the eucalyptus tree. Sources: Nolan, R. H., Bowman, D. M., Clarke, H., Haynes, K., Ooi, M. K., Price, O. F., ... & Bradstock, R. A. (2021). What do the Australian blac...

Some species don't simply survive fire, they depend on it. In the third episode of Ashes and Adaptations , we will be discussing serotiny. This remarkable fire adaptation uses heat to trigger seed release. We'll explain what serotiny is, how it works, and why it is beneficial. Sources: Parchman, T. L., Gompert, Z., Mudge, J., Schilkey, F. D., Benkman, C. W., & Buerkle, C. A. (2012). Genome‐wid...

In this episode of Ashes and Adaptations , we're discussing one of the most unassuming yet powerful fire-adapted traits: thick bark. Some trees are built with a natural armor that can protect them from the high temperatures caused by wildfires. We'll explore how fire shapes ecosystems, the science behind bark thickness, variation among species, and limitations regarding thick bark as an adaptation...

Welcome to Ashes and Adaptations ! This mini-series will be diving into various plant adaptations that have evolved in response to fire. This first episode explores evolution as a process, how adaptations arise, and corrects common misconceptions. Sources: Adaptation . (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2025, from https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolution-101/mechanisms-the-processes-of-evolution/adaptat...