The Best Biome

Nicole talks painted dogs: a surprisingly wholesome and fun-loving animal. They are excellent hunters, take care of not just their pups but their elderly, and rarely squabble amongst themselves. Photos and more are at our site . Primary Sources : Painted Dog Conservation website. Painted Dog Research Trust website. Robert L. Robbins. (2000). Vocal Communication in Free-Ranging African Wild Dogs (L...

Enjoy this episode of very good facts and very good nonsense. We revisit a nice game of stump the podcast host, this time with more bug viscera and talking ourselves out of an obvious answer. Our Info: Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

In the Páramo grasslands of South America is a cloud covered land where a unique ecosystem thrives. Allan tells us all about a plant that drinks clouds plus the miraculous little hummingbirds that call this place home. Photos and more are at our site . Primary Sources : Luteyn, J. 1999. Páramos: A Checklist of Plant Diversity, Geographical Distribution, and Botanical Literature . Taxon, Vol. 48, N...

Did you know meerkats are far more murderous than they seem or that their burrows can be as wide as a Purple Worm's? All this and more as we delve underground and find out why they can be so aggressive and who would win in a fight: 1000 meerkats or Nicole. Primary Sources : Gómez, J., Verdú, M., González-Megías, A., Méndez, M. 2016. The phylogenetic roots of human lethal violence . Nature 538, 233...

Conservation can be DEPRESSING, so for Mental Health Month we decided to share ONLY positive news and stories (after taking a little break for our brains). Rewire those neurons everybody, because it's not all bleak. Good news so far in May: Biden-Harris Administration announced $36 million for national forests and grasslands Dakota Prairie Grasslands  received $464,000 of that to improve access. U...

Wherein Rachel makes a definitive list of best bird nests in North American grasslands. Primary Sources : A Field Guide to Birds Nests  by Hal Harrison The Birder's Handbook by Paul R. Ehrlich Madison Audubon's Into the Nest Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

Ostriches are one of the strangest birds we've ever talked about. They are the world's biggest bird and toughest survivor. They nest together, have radiators for necks, and can drink saltwater. Photos and more are at our site . Primary Sources : "Strangest Bird Alive". 2016. National Geographic. Documentary. Schou, M.F., Bonato, M., Engelbrecht, A. et al. Extreme temperatures compromise...

Soils define habitats as much as the plantlife, so let's talk about that! How do you identify a soil species, and should grassland ecosystem restorations include soil microbe transplants? Photos and more are at our site . Primary Sources: Prairie: A Natural History of the Heart of North America by Candace Savage [ Affiliate Bookshop Link ] Current and Future Perspectives on Microbially Focused Res...

Basic midwest feeder bird or mysterious exotic tundra sparrow? Actually, both! Harris's Sparrows, one of the most enigmatic North American sparrows, are about to travel well out of reach into the remote frigid north, so let's gossip about them before they're gone. Only a handful of studies have been done with this species, and to this day we lack pretty basic Breeding Bird Survey information about...

If you haven't started thinking about your gardens yet, now is the perfect time to get started planning. Nicole walks us through gardening for native habitats, wildlife, and how to get your neighbors on board too. Photos and more are at our site . Further Reading : Find out more about Bee City Wichita at our website Dyck Arboretum of the Plains "Prairie Notes" blog Lady Bird Johnson Wild...

A wholesome episode about secure love, forming bonds under stress, and human connection through the lens of a grasslands specialist: the prairie vole. Photos and more are at our site . Primary Sources : NPR on the hot new vole research: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/01/27/1152009605/prairie-voles-oxytocin-love-hormone-bonding-study Why Prairie Voles are our animal model: The Prair...

So many monkeys that are forest dwellers, but baboons as a group are ground-dwelling grasslanders whose habitat use and social structure might help us learn about our own hominid ancestors. In this episode, Allan combines ecology and anthropology to discuss some grasslands monkeys. Photos and more are at our site . Primary Sources : King, G.E. 2022. Baboon perspectives on the ecology and behavior...

The chamois is a goat-antelope from the rolling alpine meadow scenery of European mountains, and today's episode is a straightforward peek into the idyllic life of this animal that's (for once) doing alright! Unless you count the mandatory 7 years of grizzled aging in the mountains and their shrinking body masses. (I don't!) Photos and more are at our site . Primary Sources : Gunderson, D. 2003. &...

Yank your concept of crayfish out of the water. In this episode, Nicole walks us through one of her favorite arthropod groups and makes a pretty good case for why prairie lovers should love these little crustaceans that burrow deep into the prairie. She also makes us rethink crayfish boils forever. Primary Sources : Florey, C. 2019. Description of Burrow Structure for Four Crayfish Species. [Maste...

In this episode, Rachel goes down the opposite of a rabbit hole as we discuss a single widely-cited paper from 2018. Take a look at Africa's savanna plants and what their adaptations mean for conservation, human impacts, and climate change across the continent. Photos and more are at our site . Primary Sources : Osborne, C. P., Charles-Dominique, T., Stevens, N., Bond, W. J., Midgley, G., & Le...

Have an existential crisis about the inner lives of bees with us! In this episode, Nicole attempts to teach us a few things about bumblebees while under constant antagonization to slander honeybees. This overview of bumblebees tumbles into some very specific studies on energy, cognition and learning, and even play behaviors for this big bumbly group of native social bees. Photos and more are at ou...

What does the American South and the Tallgrass Prairie have in common? Their grasslands support an elusive little grassland specialist that the old timey ornithologists roast way too hard: the Henslow's Sparrow. In this episode we explore the beloved longleaf pine savannas of the southern US, and ask why a little grassland sparrow who hates trees chooses to spend its winters among the longleaf pin...

This rabbity rodent of South America's grasslands is a common sight in zoos, but has one of the strangest social structures we've talked about in mammals. What makes this strictly monogamous-til-death, pair-bonded, troupe-travelling mammal SO antisocial? How does that work, and what else have we been missing all this time? Nicole shares about the Patagonian Mara (Cavy) in this episode of The Best...

CW: we talk about animal genitalia in this episode in the last 30 mins (it's hard to avoid with hyenas) Hyenas have historically been painted in a pretty negative light, only for recent PR teams to praise their strong women leaders, successful hunts, and sophisticated societies. And while we're all for praising the underdog, a lot of recent media is half truths. Let's all learn to appreciate them...

We are always fans of highlighting underappreciated animals and this week we tackle the ibis . Bin chicken or noble alarm clock? You decide. One thing's for sure: their poop is a problem. Thank you to our guest this week: Allan Saylor ! Thanks for listening, we'll see you again in two weeks! Primary Sources : Be sure to check out photos and more at our site ! Curicaca (Theristicus caudatus) . Wiki...

Content Warning: talk of blood. The last of our "spooky"-themed episodes, let's talk about ticks! How do they feed, what kind of diseases do they carry, and how best to prevent getting sick from them. Did you know there are over 900 species of ticks and they live quite literally everywhere? Well, now you do. Be safe out there. Thanks for listening to our exploration of why grasslands are...

Content Warning: talk of dead things (not graphic). Old World Vultures have a different set of tricks in order to survive including eating fruit, bones, and garbage. We talk Bearded Vultures, Eurasian Griffons, and more in this part two of our vulture special. http://savebellbowlprairie.org - save this Illinois prairie by Nov. 1st! Included is more information on the prairie itself as well as easy...

Content Warning: talk of corpses and the eating of them. Vultures are nasty birds which cleanse the landscape of death and disease. In this part of our first ever two part episode we learn about the New World vultures from North and South America and how they fit into their landscapes and interact with each other. Next time: Old World vultures! Thanks for listening to our weekly exploration of why...

If you ever find yourself staring at a tangle of orange spaghetti in a grassland, it's probably a dodder plant. These talented, strange parasites have no leaves or roots, but plenty of other tricks to make sure that they succeed. Learn about plant communication systems, haustoria, plus a bonus fun tale of a maiden in a prairie looking for love. Thanks for listening to our weekly exploration of why...

A raptor like no other crosses 20,000km across hemispheres every year, chasing summer and bugs and grasslands through the Americas. The Swainson's Hawk is a spectacle, and we're grateful to have them fighting on our side in the looming grasshopper apocalypse. Thanks for listening to our weekly exploration of why grasslands are the best biome. We'll see you next time! Primary Sources : Bechard, M....