Nature's Archive

No matter who you are or where you live, you depend on water. Often, water access is so reliable and ubiquitous that many of us rarely stop to consider the natural and human-made systems that capture, store, and transport water to where it is needed. But climate change and decades of growing consumption are forcing us to reconsider the ways of the past. Water management and hydrology are huge topi...

Slime molds (Myxomycetes) are beautiful, weird, and amazing organisms. Often mistaken for fungi, they are actually single celled, yet they grow and efficiently move in search of food, can start and stop their life cycle based on environmental conditions, and even change colors several times during their brief life. They can be beautifully colored, frequently iridescent, and can be ornately shaped....

Today we're going to discuss an animal that can make wind sails, cast nets, produce its own antifreeze, and is an A-list impersonator. Well, it's not one animal, but a category of animals - spiders! And my guest today, Dr. Sarah Rose, is here to tell us all about it. Dr. Rose is the author of a spectacular new field guide, Spiders of North America from Princeton University Press, is chai...

There are probably few better ways to learn about raptors, raptor behavior and migration, and identification than a hawk count! My guest, Allen Fish, Director of the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory , tells us all about their hawk count and banding operation, as well as some of the fascinating projects and partners that connect to this community science effort. These are things like satellite and ra...

Hi everyone! This week's episode is not a traditional interview episode, but rather more of an update. But I still tried to pack some great nature content in it. Regular episodes return in two weeks, So what's on tap today? I have some fascinating updates and topics that I picked up from two nature conferences I attended over the last two weeks.  This includes: - Complexities of nitrogen...

My guest today is Deb Kramer, founder and executive director of Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful . I’ve come to know Deb and her organization over the past couple of years, and I can’t believe it has taken me this long to have her on the podcast! Keep Coyote Creek Beautiful, in my opinion, is a model for how to start and grow a conservation organization. Today you’ll hear about Coyote Creek - a river t...

My guest today is Denise Lewis, Director of Programs and resident raptor expert at Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, Nebraska. Today Denise gives me a tour of the Raptor Woodland Refuge , which is an incredible public facility at the forest. Just envision this - a densely wooded hillside with an elevated boardwalk. But every 10 or 20 meters, there is a structure, almost like a cabin, each housing inc...

I love getting feedback about the podcast, and within days of each other, I received some interesting and overlapping suggestions. One said "I enjoy the deep dives into different taxa or environments, but I also really enjoyed some of your earlier episodes where you had people with different ways of engaging with nature, such as the standup paddleboard guest". And a former guest gave me...

Today's episode is really exciting and was a new experience for me - a field interview! And I couldn't have asked for a better guest than Michelle Foss, Director of Resource Stewardship at Fontenelle Forest in Bellevue, Nebraska. Fontenelle Forest is not what most people would typically think of if they envisioned Nebraska. It is 2100 acres, with a mosaic of habitats. It's largely w...

Today's episode is a bit unique. As I mentioned in my monthly newsletter a couple months ago, I've been very impressed with a new podcast called Golden State Naturalist. I've had the pleasure of speaking with its creator, Michelle Fullner, a couple of times, and thought it would be fun to discuss her rapid success, and expose more people to her work. One of my goals with Nature&apos...

My guest today is Dr. Karlisa Callwood. Dr. Callwood is the director of the community conservation education and action program for the Perry Institute for Marine Science , and an expert on the coral reef fisheries of the Bahamas, and has a PhD in Ecosystem Science and Policy from the University of Miami in Florida. Today we talk about about the coral reef systems of the Bahamas, how they function...

Today's guest is Dr. Brian Brown, Curator of Entomology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. A native of Toronto, Canada, Dr. Brown did his undergraduate and masters work at the University of Guelph. During the latter, under the tutelage of well known entomologist Steve Marshall, Dr. Brown took up the study of the fly family Phoridae. This is a phenomenally diverse family of e...

It’s mid-summer here in the northern hemisphere, and that means vacation season. So this week’s episode is a solo one, to give me a little space for my vacation. Don’t worry, regular episodes return next time, including topics such as Caribbean coral reef systems, the incredible diversity of flies (yes, flies are more incredible than even the experts know!), raptor ecology, and eastern North Ameri...

As cities grow further into wildlands and natural habitats, and as animals attempt to adapt to these urban environments, it is inevitable that people and wildlife will come into more contact. My guest today, Jessica Wolff, works to help people and wildlife when these interactions occur. She is an Urban Wildlife Coordinator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife . As an Urban Wildlife Coordinator, J...

Did you know that as a group, amphibians are the most threatened vertebrates on Earth? As many as 1/3 are considered threatened. As a result of this, my guest, Dr. Kerry Kriger, has devoted his education and career to amphibian research and protection. Dr. Kriger has a PhD in Environmental Science from Griffith University, and in 2008 founded of Save The Frogs! - the first global organization devo...

Warning - listen to this episode at your own risk! If you aren't careful, you may find yourself out a few hundred dollars. Why? Today we're talking field guides - the books and apps that help you identify, find and learn about all kinds of amazing creatures. Joining me are Allen Fish, of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy as Director of the Raptor Observatory and as Associate Dir...

Do you want to find more butterflies? Paul Johnson can help. Paul is a Wildlife Biologist at Pinnacles National Park, and a long time lepidopterist, or one who studies butterflies and moths. Paul also leads several North American Butterfly Association (NABA) counts in California, which is how I got connected with Paul in the first place, and a primary focus of this episode. Today, we discuss Paul&...

My guest today is Siena Mckim. Siena is a PhD student at UC Santa Barbara studying sponges in the kelp forest, which is arguably one of the most iconic marine communities. In particular, she's looking at sponge symbionts - basically, the tiny marine organisms that use sponges as a habitat. Today we hear about Siena's unique path to marine biology, developed in part from an unlikely inter...

Eric Eaton is an entomologist and the well known author of Wasps: The Astonishing Diversity of a Misunderstood Insect , and co-author of the Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America . We discuss his most recent work, Insectpedia . Insectpedia is  a fascinating and non-traditional look at insects, the people who study them, and their role in history and society. Today, learn about Eric'...

Today’s guest is Alison Young, Co-Director of the Center for Biodiversity and Community Science at the California Academy of Sciences. Alison has a background in marine biology, including a MA in Marine Biology from Humboldt State University and a BA in Biology from Swarthmore College. At the Cal Academy, Alison is a driving force behind the City Nature Challenge , which is a 4 day global BioBlitz...

I live in a city of 1 million people that is part of a metropolitan area of close to 8 million people. Yet, at my suburban home I often hear Coyotes howling at night, turkeys gobbling in the morning, and great-horned owls hooting. There are Bald Eagles that nest near a school not too far away. And San Francisco is famous for its Sea Lions. These stories of urban wildlife are quite common across mu...

You know conifers, right? They are those wonderful trees that include some of the tallest, widest, and oldest living trees on Earth. Think Giant Sequoia, Coast Redwood, and Bristlecone Pines. Conifers are also the oldest lineage of trees on earth. This is just a small taste of what conifers have to offer. My guest today is Michael Kaufmann, a lifelong educator, ecologist and author, and also the f...

My guests today are Rhett Barker and Curtis Sarkin of the incredibly popular Wild Green Memes for Ecological Fiends. If you don’t know Wild Green Memes, it’s a Facebook group of over 475,000 members. And it’s quite possibly the most enjoyable place I’ve found on social media. Before I go any further, yes, today’s episode is a bit different than my typical episodes. But you’re still going to learn...

One common theme of my podcasts is that everything in nature is interconnected in multiple ways. And today’s episode demonstrates that in some mind bending ways. What’s the topic? Well, it’s an often overlooked subject. If it is handled well, it will sequester carbon, reduce the impacts of droughts, improve our water quality, and probably save you money. And if you need another hint, when it is he...

Highways, roadways, and railways isolate animals, prevent them from reaching needed food and water, causing genetic isolation, and make populations vulnerable to natural disasters. And as you’ll hear today, the impacts go much deeper, and sometimes in surprising directions. My guest Beth Pratt of the National Wildlife Federation and Save LA Cougars tells the astonishing story of how a Los Angeles...