BioScience Talks

In a year marked by unprecedented flooding, deadly avalanches, and scorching heat waves and wildfires, the climate emergency's enormous cost—whether measured in lost resources or human lives—is all too apparent. Writing in BioScience , a group led by William J. Ripple and Christopher Wolf, both with Oregon State University, update their striking 2019 " World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emerge...

Historically, shared resources such as forests, fishery stocks, and pasture lands have often been managed with an aim toward averting "tragedies of the commons," which are thought to result from selfish overuse. Writing in BioScience , Drs. Senay Yitbarek (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), Karen Bailey (University of Colorado Boulder), Nyeema Harris (Yale University), and colleagues cr...

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Charlie Fenster, Professor at South Dakota State University, Director of Oak Lake Field Station, and President of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS), Dr. Pam Soltis of the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida, Director of University of Florida Biodiversity Institute, AIBS Board Member, and Past President of the Americ...

A discussion of environmental DNA and RNA (eDNA and eRNA, respectively) and its potential for pathogen monitoring. eDNA and eRNA approaches work through the collection of a sample (often from an aquatic source), whose genetic contents are then sequenced to reveal the presence and prevalence of pathogens. This conversation focuses on two cases, that of a herpesvirus that causes cancers among as tur...

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields, particularly within the biological sciences. Each month, we will publish in the pages of BioScience, and on this podcast, the results of these conversations. John E. Burris is emeritus president of the Burroughs Wellcome Fund....

Dr. Morgan Grove of the USDA Baltimore Field Station joins us to discuss urban ecology, segregation, environmental justice, DEI, and the efforts of the USDA Forest Service's Baltimore Field Station, including the Stillmeadow Peace Park and the Baltimore Wood Project. Learn more.

George Chacko (University of Illinois) and Steve Gallo (American Institute of Biological Sciences) discuss using article citations to generate "clusters" that reflect scientific communities. The clustering methodology may have broad implications for science, ranging from better peer review and DEI to the uncovering fraud, bias—and more. Read the article.

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields, particularly within the biological sciences. Each month, we will publish in the pages of BioScience, and on this podcast, the results of these conversations. Dr. Lovejoy is a Professor at George Mason University, in Fairfax, Vi...

Before European colonization, populations of Pacific salmon were successfully managed by the Indigenous communities of the Pacific Northwest since time immemorial. Colonization and its associated fisheries management practices have depleted stocks and disrupted the complex social–ecological systems that underlie them.  In this episode, we're joined by Will Atlas, a salmon watershed scientist with...

Despite having a professed trust in the science, many members of the public fall short when it comes to making choices that protect the environment and support informed decision-making. To help excite and inspire broad audiences to have a greater appreciation for and engagement with science, our guests today, Jonathan Pauli, associate professor in the Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology at t...

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields, particularly within the biological sciences. Each month, we will publish in the pages of BioScience, and on this podcast, the results of these conversations.  Today, we are joined by Peter Raven, president emeritus of the Misso...

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields, particularly within the biological sciences. Each month, we will publish in the pages of BioScience, and on this podcast, the results of these conversations.  Today, we are joined by Alan Covich, Professor of Ecology at the Odu...

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced numerous challenges for scientific societies and organizations, including the necessity to quickly move large in-person meetings to a fully online format. Joining us on this episode of BioScience Talks is Dr. Kevin Sato, past president of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research and chair of the organizing committee for the 2020 ASGSR Virtual Mee...

Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, US science leaders and others have expressed frustration with the lack of an informed and coherent federal response, a sentiment that echoes objections to the handling of other pressing issues, such as climate change. Writing in BioScience , an assemblage of the past presidents of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) have issued an app...

On 29 October 2020, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced the "successful recovery" of the US gray wolf population, with US Secretary of the Interior Secretary David Bernhardt stating that the species had "exceeded all conservation goals for recovery." These claims have been rebutted by numerous experts, who argue that the delisting decision is premature. Writing in BioScience , independent e...

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields, particularly within the biological sciences. Each month, we will publish in the pages of BioScience, and on this podcast, the results of these conversations.  Today, we are joined by Paul Ehrlich, president of the Center for Co...

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields, particularly within the biological sciences. Each month, we will publish in the pages of BioScience, and on this podcast, the results of these conversations.  Today, we are joined by Marvalee Wake, professor of the Graduate Sch...

Fences are one of humanity's most frequent landscape alterations, with their combined length exceeding even that of roads by an order of magnitude. Despite their ubiquity, they have received far less research scrutiny than many human-built structures. Alex McInturff, a postdoctoral researcher at UC Santa Barbara, joins us on this episode of BioScience  Talks to discuss fence ecology. Read the arti...

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields. Each month, we will publish in the pages of BioScience, and on this podcast, the results of these conversations.  Today, we are joined by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson, Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Amer...

The keys to conserving large mammals, such as bears, often lie in better understanding their ecophysiology. Armed with knowledge about the animals' energy needs, conservationists can encourage actions that better preserve populations and ensure that their habitats will be able to sustain them both now and as the climate continues to rapidly change. In this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined...

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields, particularly within the biological sciences. Each month, we will publish in the pages of BioScience, and on this podcast, the results of these conversations.  Today, we are joined by Dr. Gene E. Likens, emeritus president of th...

Natural history collections are a crucial resource to many scientific endeavors, and their value has been bolstered by recently undertaken digitization efforts. However, many opportunities remain to improve collections' usability, ensure that their contributions are properly credited, and protect them from a perilous budget environment that, in many cases, threatens their long-term survival. Writi...

Shade from urban trees has long been understood to offer respite from the urban heat island effect, a phenomenon that can result in city centers that are 1–3 degrees Centigrade warmer than surrounding areas. Less frequently discussed, however, are the effects of tree transpiration in combination with the heterogeneous landscapes that constitute the built environment. Writing in BioScience , Joy Wi...

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields, particularly within the biological sciences. Each month, we will publish in the pages of BioScience, and on this podcast, the results of these conversations.  Today, we are joined by Dr. Douglas Futuyma, professor emeritus of e...

The pandemic resulting from SARS-CoV-2 has had profound impacts on the conduct of scientific research and education: A large proportion of field research has ground to a halt, and research and science education were forced to move online. In light of these developments, the nation's biodiversity infrastructure—natural history collections housed in museums, herbaria, universities, and colleges, amo...