The Natural Selection Presents: Recent Episodes
The Natural Selection
Welcome to the Natural Selection—we're a group of taxonomists who want to bring their passion for nature into the wild.
Join us as we discuss the latest discoveries in the natural world and bring an irreverent eye to what we've learned about Earth's diverse life that week.
This week the Natural selection say goodbye.. at least for now. In this our final episode, we touched on some of our favourite topics or subjects that we haven’t discussed in previous episodes. We learned about some extinct species and some species that have reappeared after being thought extinct. We got meta and investigated the world of memes both in humans and other animals. We also tested our knowledge with not one but two quizzes this week! Listen now to see if you can answer some questions related to our past episodes.
And Finally from everyone here at the Natural Selection, we would like to say a huge thank you to anyone who has listened to any of our episodes or shared our podcast with someone. To anyone who has gotten in contact with us, thank you it means so much to know people are enjoying what we do. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Thanks for listening and goodbye for now.
animals and subjects discussed in this episode include:
lesser spectral tarsier (Tarsius pumilus), also known as the mountain tarsier or the pygmy tarsier
Dusky Flying Fox (Pteropus brunneus)
Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus)
Megalodon (Otodus megalodon)
Simeulue hill mynas (Gracula religiosa miotera)
tree lobster(Dryococelus australis) commonly known as the Lord Howe Island stick insect
memes
Baron Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás
Chelicerata, Myriapoda, Pancrustacea/ Crustaceans & Hexapods
Thrips (order Thysanoptera)
Coleoptera - beetles
Lepidoptera butterflies
Hemiptera – true bugs
Hymenoptera – wasps bees and ants
Diapause
Rodents, mustelids, armadillos, marsupials, roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)
Quiz
Episode 9: parasites Ophiocordyceps unilateralis –fungus that makes ants into zombies –
Episode 13: metamorphosis
Episode 14: myths Animal paradoxa -
Including Antelope, Pelicans, Deathwatch beetle (make a ticking noise associated with impending death), Barnacle goose (believed to grow from rotten wood thrown out to sea) and shrinking frog or paradoxical frog (Pseudis paradoxa) as well as dragons, hydras, Borometz (plant like a sheep - might be cotton, such as in The Travels of Sir John Mandeville)
Episode 19: brains dung beetles use the milky way to navigate
Episode 28: fossils – coprolite- Fossil poo
brontosaurus
Ep 33: blood - Ocellated ice fish
- Horseshoe crab
Ep 67: blue - the mandarinfish (Synchiropus splendidus)
Blue poison dart
Ep 29: beetles – luciferin is a group of light emitting compounds that make fireflies and other bioluminescent animals glow
Ep 36: DNA - marbled lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus)
The Natural Selection is back! This week we talk all about why The Ordovician blew a little hot and cold, why the great dying was great news for us, and which pigeon once blocked out the sun.
In this episode we talk about:
Common Sydney octopuses (Octopus tetricus)
jacobin hummingbirds (Florisuga mellivora)
Titanoboa (Titanoboa cerrejonensis)
Passenger pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius)
The Natural Selection is back, and this week we are talking all about beaks! Listen now and learn why you shouldn't squeeze pliers with jelly in your hands, how to calm down a goose, and which bird is better than a speeding train.
In This episode we talk about:
Flesh Flies - Sarcophaga similis
Avocets - Pied Avocets Recurvirostra avosetta
Oviraptors - Oviraptor philoceratops
Sauropods
Kingfishers
Cephalopods - Giant Squids, Colosal squids, Humboldt's Squid, Blue Ringed Octopus.
Geese - Anatidae, Anseriformes and the fossil Presbyornis
So, we had a technical malfunction this week with the recording, but our episode all about beaks will be back next week!
Until then, please enjoy this special out-take from a previous episode.
Join us as this week The Natural Selection Presents... Butterflies! (and moths). In this episode, we learned all about some beautiful butterflies and marvelous moths. We explored coevolution with flowers, dazzling displays, and some butterflies brought back from the brink of extinction. Listen now to find out more.
Thanks for listening and please like and share if you enjoyed this episode.
Species mentioned in this episode are listed below.
Mallards
Fruit flies
Anole lizards – lizards in the genus Anolis
Fixed front fangs -Taipans - snakes in the genus Oxyuranus in the elapid family
Crab eating water snake – (Fordonia leucobalia)
Lepidoptera
Queen Alexandra's birdwing (Ornithoptera alexandrae)
Painted lady (Vanessa cardui)
Morgan's sphinx moth (Xanthopan morganii)
Large Blue (Phengaris arion)
Red ant (Myrimica sabuleti)
European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus)
Silk worm(Bombyx mori)
Wild silk moth (Bombyx mandarina)
- The butterfly mentioned by Nabakov in the excerpt from Speak, memory Anarta cordigera
The Natural Selection returns to talk about Grasslands! Listen now and learn how to name a Gorilla, How high a bison can jump, and where to find a cheetah.
In This Episode We talk about:
News:
Giraffes
Dung Beetles
Microgastrinae Wasps
Theme:
Poaceae/Grasses - Wheat, Rice and Bamboo
Insects of the steppe and prairie - Beetles, ants, mites, springtails, flies and earthworms.
The Great Migration - Blue Wildebeest, Zebra
Grasslands of Iran - Asiatic Cheetah, manul cat, lynx, wolves, common fox, cape hare, goitered gazelle and Latifi's viper.
Sapiens: Homo Sapiens and wheat.
This week the Natural Selection were seeing red and exploring another colour we see all over the natural world. We discussed the IUCN red list and how it helps policy changes. We explored some brightly pigmented animals and some animals that have just gotten too much sun. Listen now to find out more.
Please like and share if you enjoyed this episode. Thanks for listening!
This week the Natural Selection found out it's not easy being green.. well not if you’re a mammal anyway. This week we talked all about the colour green and how and why some animals and most plants are green. Why aren’t there any green mammals? How does chlorophyll work? What is that green bird in Hyde park? Listen now to find out more!
Next week we're going to take a small break but we'll be back on the 3rd of August. Thanks for listening
The Natural Selection is back - And this week we are a bit blue. But don't worry, rather than being rude, or sad, we have found our favourite blue things from nature. Listen now and learn why you might put make up on a bird's foot, why the sky is not like the sea, and why a unique singing voice can make you famous.
This week The Natural Selection got tangled up in the complex world of food webs. From the global ocean food web to the complex biota in a termite's gut, understanding food webs is vital to allow us to recognise the impact we can have on them. In this week's episode, we explored why an ecologist was throwing starfish in the 60s and how wolves brought more songbirds back to Yellowstone.
Listen now to find out more. Please follow and share if you enjoyed this episode.
The Natural Selection is back - and this week we are talking all about Dinosaurs! Listen now and learn why T-Rex would make terrible podcasters, why Naomi hates Hollywood, and which 15 million years gets palaeontologists most excited.
Join us for this episode of the Natural Selection Presents… Bones! We got weird and wacky this week learning about manatee molars, the tiniest bone of them all, and what birds give up in order to fly.
This week's episode got deep as the Natural Selection explored the depths of the oceans. We discussed the challenges faced by the unique and bizarre animals found near the bottom of the ocean. From the aptly named "terrible-claw lobster" to giant squids we learnt about adaptations deep sea creatures have evolved. Marine snow, zombie worms, mysterious purple orbs, glowing gonads… this episode has them all! Listen now to find out more.
If you enjoyed this episode, please like and share!
The Natural Selection is back! Listen now and learn how to become a queen, why it might be useful to be 80% as big as a clown fish, and what finds their parents' skin… delicious.
This week the Natural Selection came out of their shells. We explored the wonderful variety of protective coatings and armour animals have, from snails to turtles (with the gentle giant glyptodon in between). Why did some cephalopods lose their shells? Why are bird eggs and reptile eggs different? Listen now to find out the answer to these big questions (and many more)!
If you enjoyed this episode, please like and share.
This week, the Natural Selection presents… marsupials! Listen now and learn which marsupial you might find in Antarctica, why opossums don't give birth through their noses, and which kangaroo didn't hop.
This week the Natural Selection talked about snakes. We explored how they move and interact with a variety of habitats from burrows to the air. We investigated how snakes differ from other limbless lizards and how they can reproduce in unique ways.
Listen now to discover more about these fascinating and often stigmatised creatures. Please like and share if you enjoyed this episode. For more content, you can find us at https://www.thenaturalselection.net/
The Natural Selection is back! Listen now and hear why aye-aye die, to better understand a panda hand, and whether you can (or should!) persue a kangaroo.
This week, the Natural Selection talked about the uncommon and the unexpected. Our theme was anomalies and we explored some unusual and rare plants and animals. From the strange and puzzling fossils of the Cambrian to snakes with legs, we discovered many things that are out of the ordinary. How do plants survive without chlorophyll? What weird body part is Nic talking about this week? Where on earth would you find a bunch of albino squirrels? Listen now to find the answers to these questions and more.
If you enjoyed this episode please tell a friend and like and share this episode. Thanks for listening!
Hello Listeners, The Natural Selection is back, and this week we are talking all about seeds. Listen now and learn why you might want to be eaten by an elephant, where the most biodiverse place in the world is, and what might explode if you touch it.
What's in a name? What we call a bug… might actually be a shrimp! This week the crew at the Natural Selection discussed misnomers. We explored how some animals' names don't reflect their true natures. From comb-jellies to fish, with bugs in between, listen now to find out more.
If you enjoyed this episode, please like and share!
This week's episode is mind-bending. Well, at least our topic is! In this episode, we discussed "altered states". Relax back as you learn about the brain activity caused meditation, take a trip to the past and explore some historical experiments that weren't so groovy, and grab your favourite caffeinated beverage as you listen to discover just why cats love catnip…
Thanks for listening! Please like and share our podcast if you enjoyed this episode.
In this week's episode we went back to the beginning… From the origin of the binomial naming system, we learned why Swedish spiders are truly exceptional. We shed some light on the causes behind (and evolutionary history of) those pesky hiccups. We also explored the origins of some tasty food and drink. Listen now to find out more.
Please like, share and follow if you enjoyed this episode!
The Natural Selection is back! This week, we present... cycles!
No, we've not gone all city planning on you, but listen now and find out why dogs don't have menstrual cycles, what will be coming out the ground in 17 years, and why you're only breathing through one nostril right now!
Inspired by spring weather this week, the Natural Selection discussed growth. We really blossomed and found the light as we learned about plant phototropism and we reached new heights as we explored just how bamboo grows so fast. Listen now to find out why giants would have serious leg problems, and if you enjoyed this episode, you can help us grow our podcast by liking and sharing our show!
The Natural Selection is back (remember us?), and this week we present... memory!
Listen and find out why a slime mould might have a better job than you, which one of us was attacked by corvids, and what we don't know about starfish.
On this episode, the Natural Selection got to the heart of the topic… and the brain… and the melon… because this week was all about organs! We discovered how animals use some specialised organs to get information from the world around them and asked some important questions: What's so electrifying about how sharks hunt? Why is your cat doing that thing with its face? Do I use my brain to its full potential? Find out the answers to these questions and many more by listening now!
This week, the Natural Selection was not playing it safe: we explored the thrilling topic of danger. We shook with fear as we learned about rattlesnakes, saltwater crocodiles, and the most infamous man-eating tiger that ever lived. Listen now to learn how animals signal and startle their way out of dangerous situations—but don't worry, we won't bite ;)
The Natural Selection is back, and this week we talk about nature's most amazing parents. Learn why eating a queen's poo makes some animals better mothers, find out when it's appropriate to eat your babies, and why seahorse fathers are not as unusual as you might assume…
This week, inspired by Valentine's Day, the Natural selection talked about sexual reproduction. We discussed some strategies different animals use to impress their mates. Listen now to learn how male spiders avoid being eaten (or in some cases, don't…), why female anglerfish are so lumpy, and how snails use love darts to get their way. If you enjoyed this episode, please like and share!
The Natural Selection is back! This week, the only way is up as we talk all about climbing! Listen and find out which snake is the absolute cutest, why climbing waterfalls turns one fish's frown upside down, and why you should probably leave that baby sloth alone.
Please like, rate, share, subscribe, whatever you feel like, as it helps us reach new listeners and spread the nature love!
This week's episode had a real sting to it, as the Natural Selection talks all about toxins! Learn why you shouldn't smoke (even if you're stung by a snail), why Komodo Dragons don't have dirty mouths, and how some witches might just be moldy bread!
Hello Listeners! This week, the Natural Selection does convergent evolution—how living things independently evolve similar traits. Listen now and hear about the world’s most terrifying newt, which bird is a little bit like Elvis, and the answer to the question everyone has been dying to know: can pandas taste umami?
This week the Natural Selection explored the frozen depths of the ice ages. Inspired by the frosty January weather, we looked at time periods when ice and snow extended far beyond the poles. We uncovered mammoth facts about megafauna and extinctions. Join us as we discuss snowball earth, our winter wardrobes, and (sort of) sabre-tooth cats. It would be brrrilliant if you shared the episode if you listened and enjoyed it!
Hello Listeners! As Christmas comes to an end and the new year approaches, the Natural Selection gather to share all the facts they couldn't squeeze into any other episode. Holiday grab bag! We don't know what each of us are going to choose to talk about, so join us for some Christmassy mystery!
Join us listeners for a special, slightly shorter, Christmas edition of the Natural Selection!
Listen as Nick, Nic and Naomi talk about their favourite Christmas Flora and Fauna.
We Ho Ho Hope you like it!
This week the Natural Selection dig deep to explore the hidden depths of caves. In this weeks episode, the trio discuss some wonderful caves from around the world, adaptations to life in caves and how early humans left their mark in caves. Take a journey with us through caves and etymological origins and uncover some fantastic and perhaps horrifying cave dwellers... oh and watch out for the snakes.
The Natural Selection doesn't like to get negative but this week our theme went subzero. Inspired by the cooling weather we fished out some icy facts about how animals cope with low temperatures. Chill out and listen to us chat about maple syrup, frozen frogs, and why ice is so nice.
If you enjoy this episode please like and share. Check out our website thenaturalselection.net for some extra content and links to our social media.
This week on the Natural Selection, the power of flight is the wind beneath our wings! Join Nick, Naomi, and Nic as we talk pterosaurs, tiny microbes in the air, and the dangers of airports—for geese, that is.
We are back! This week we have come out of our shell to talk about eggs!
Listen now and find out which bird gives birth to the biggest eggs, which babies are born with teeth, and where to find the most aerodynamic eggs.
This week The Natural Selection is unzipping the complex topic of genes and DNA. We explored the complex world of genetics and talked about the structure of DNA, HOX genes and glowing sharks. We also talked about nobel prizes, calico cats, epigentics and marbled lungfish. Listen now to find out how long the DNA from a single human cell laid out end to end would measure.
Spoiler: It's not as tall as big ben but taller than an averaged sized Ben.
This episode on the Natural Selection we're all about bees, ants, wasps (and sawflies, sort of). The insect order Hymenoptera is our topic this week, so stop by and hear about the smallest wasp (it's really, really tiny), learn more about crazy ants and their crazy lives, and find out how to build a home for the bees!
The Natural Selection is back, this week we are talking all about death.
Learn which snakes are terrible actors, why you shouldn't attack a turkey vulture, and which ants explode for the benefit of others.
The Natural Selection had a bloody great time with this week's Halloween-inspired theme. We learned all about blood, from red-blooded puppies to green-blooded skinks with Ocellated ice fish in between. We found out that medicine got lucky with the horseshoe crab, we got a taste of sanguinivores, and uncovered why friendship among vampire bats doesn't suck. Please listen, like, and share if you haven't got too much on your platelets.
Surf's up! Join the Natural Selection crew this week as we sail around the world's reefs… and it's not just coral! Listen in to find out where the world's biggest sponge reefs are, what makes the Great Barrier Reef so great, and how to keep an eye on reefs near and far (like this one, in Miami: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i8ARjIeM2k)—even without a snorkel!
The Natural Selection is back, this week we are talking all about forests.
Listen and learn how giraffes outsmart plants, what dung beetles can tell us about ancient England and how some insects start fires .
The Natural selection branch out this week and 'leaf' summer behind as they fall into the topic of autumn. This week the trio talk about all the losers, changers, and movers and shakers that autumn brings. Listen now to hear all about leaf senescence, murmurations, phenotypic shifts… and, most importantly, baby seals.
Nick, Naomi, and Nic come together again, this time to discuss the wonderful world of beetles. In this episode, find out about everyone's favourite insect—here, there, and everywhere—while we discuss our intended funerals and why, all the wrong names to call a lampyrid, and what to do when you find a coprophanaeus beetle feeding in the wild (hint: let it be)!
The Natural Selection is back, and this week we are talking all about fossils!
Listen and learn how penguins tricked scientists, how elephants tricked the Ancient Greeks, and hear us potentially slander Arthur Conan Doyle.
Join the Natural this week as they brave skunks and corpse flowers to sniff out some interesting facts about smell. Learn why musk oxen are so smelly, what makes whale barf so valuable and which animal has the best nose. Listen now and find out what a perfume expert is called.
Nick, Naomi, and Nic are back at it again! This week we tackle the great microscopic frontier: bacteria. Tune in to find out why horse poo is dry and cow poo is wet, what makes mice brave, and how life on earth may have begun.
The Natural Selection is back! This week we are talking all about Language.
Listen and hear what happens to naughty ravens, why vervet monkeys don't say leopard, and why an Englishman's bird is an Irishman's cow.
This week take a swim through a vast ocean of knowledge with the Natural selection. Join Nic, Naomi and Nick as they talk about the open ocean and the creatures that live there. Learn about the beginning of all things, rare marine insects, glowing oceans and sci-fi starfish.
Find the natural selection on Facebook.
Take a dip this summer with the Natural Selection crew as Naomi, Nick, and Nic talk about water on land—and under ice! Tune in this week as we find out what lives in one of the clearest lakes in the world, whether leeches are your friend, and why river dolphins have melons.
Join the Natural Selection this week as they discuss museums... again. Take a peek behind the scenes at some of the research and work that goes on in museums. This week we discussed type specimens, how not to test fossils and where the best place to discover a new species is. Listen now and find out why Nick compared beetles to Shawshank redemption.
The Natural Selection is back! This week we are talking all about Museums. Listen to three fine specimens discuss why Naomi's favourite owl has a pencil in its ear, where Nic's favourite dead rat is kept, and why some Diplodocus make Nick sad.
The Natural Selection is back! This week we are talking all about vision. Listen and find out why a dormouse would enjoy watching The Hobbit, why praying mantises looks like the Mona Lisa, and why you shouldn't rub wasabi on a pit viper.
The Natural selection has gone all philosophical with an episode where we think about thinking. From gorillas that don't care about what you know to ants in a hive mind, this week's episode is full of ideas for you to ponder. Listen now to learn about scientists accessorising ants and a Nobel prize-winning doctor that just wanted to draw.
The Natural Selection has got its jim jams on and hot water bottle ready, as we talk about sleep!
Find out whose been eating crackers while Naomi sleeps, why you should think twice before gluing dead snails to things, and why Nic dreams of wandering around cities.
The Natural Selection have gone nocturnal. This week's theme is all about the night. Join the trio as they discuss how to see in the dark, a feathery literary legend, and what insects you might find buzzing around your lightbulb. Listen now to discover what new word Naomi can't pronounce. Hoo is ready to learn all about owls?
This episode had a few technical issues so apologies for the sound quality in some parts.
The Natural Selection is back. This week we talk all about daylight. Learn why pink might not exist, hear Naomi say something in German, and listen to Nic criticise penguins.
Metamorphosis: by The Institute of Queer Ecology
https://dis.art/
The Natural Selection is back! Join Naomi, Nic and Nick as they talk about Migration. Learn that Entymologists are bad at naming things, why Naomi should never climb Everest, and why Nick just hates all Blue Grouse.
Join the Natural Selection this week as they discuss islands and the creatures that live on them. This week's news featured lonely-lefty snails looking for love, parrots who have evolved for the nightlife and murder hornets. The trio chatted about some important scientific ideas developed on islands, island endemism, and the infamous cat 'Tibbles' possibly responsible for the extinction of a whole species.
Here are some links to the resources Nic mentioned. Birding while black, https://lithub.com/birding-while-black/
as well as the book Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature poetry. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6997336-black-nature
Join the Natural Selection this week as they discuss the ever-changing subject of metamorphosis. Our news this week included some noisy bugs, hungry dinosaurs, and pesky prehistoric parasites. Learn about some controversial ideas behind the evolution of complete metamorphosis in insects. Find out how axolotls stay so cute, dogs stay so friendly and salmon stay alive in freshwater.
Listen now and discover how many times we mess up the word ~~metamorphoesis metamorfosis meta….~~ You get the idea.
Cicada sound was sourced from https://freesound.org/people/Pogotron/sounds/65497/
Join The Natural Selection as we talk about the Myths inspired by the natural world. Learn why people used to buy narwhal tusks, why you don't like snakes, and hear what a banshee sounds like.
Podolskiy, E.A.,Sugiyama, S. (2020) Soundscape of a Narwhal Summering Ground in a Glacier Fjord (Inglefield Bredning, Greenland). JGR oceans 125(5) https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016116
Audio recordings of Narwhal sound by Evgeny Podolskiy, geophysicist at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Jap
https://zenodo.org/record/3402649#.XtV_ccDTU2w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn5r7lcWhJQ&feature=youtu.be
Barn Owl sourced from Xeno canto recorded by Ciarán Walsh.
https://www.xeno-canto.org/537722
Join Nic, Naomi, and Nick this week as they explore the hidden world of camouflage. This week's topics covered shipwrecking clams, sandy nymphs, and masterful mimics. Listen now to find out why Nick wouldn't make a good stick impersonator, you might even find some concealed Disney song titles.
If you're enjoying the podcasts more content is available on our website.
The Natural Selection is back and its gone all metropolitan. Learn why someone fed spiders hot dogs, the debt we owe the brown rat and why Singapore is called Singapore.
Join Nic, Naomi and Nick and learn all about the darker side of symbiotic relationships. Join the trio as they discuss brain controlling fungi, mobster birds, and cat-loving rodents. Last week's episode left us wondering how some caterpillars exploit their ant mutualists, listen now to find out how.
This week's ep delves into organisms that parasitise, manipulate and exploit other creatures so may not be for the squeamish.
Join Nic, Nick and Naomi and learn why some birds might tick you off, why ants have been branching out, and how to grow tomatoes in Iceland - All on todays episode all about mutualism!
After a very long hiatus the Natural Selection are back! Join Nic, Naomi and Nick as they talk all about homes. They chat a bit about their own isolation living situations and feature some amazing animal architects from show off bower birds to master engineer beavers. Tune in to find out what bird has built the largest nest, how termites stay cool and what Nic spotted out his window.
This episode was recorded during covid-19 isolation so please bear with the sound quality and thanks for listening!
Nick, Naomi and new face Hannah discuss Deserts. Learn why maple trees change sex, why thorny devils are not the strangest thing to have on your school blazer and why the easter bunny doesn't go to australia.
Join Nick, Nic and Naomi as they talk about the aether, how macadamia nuts burn and just exactly how fast that spider in your bedroom can run. This week is Nic's last week in the country, so we interview him to see how his adventures affect the way he sees nature.
Nic, Nick and Naomi talk all things extreme in the natural world, where we discuss where the best place to wee if you're hot, and finally settle once and for all, which is bigger, a school bus or a London bus!
Join Nick, Nic and Naomi as they discuss the weeks science news, theme of the week and a noteworthy project.
This weeks theme was 'The Ends of the Earth' and they discussed a range of topics such as Skrillex, where bears don't live and the romantic effects of biomes.
This weeks highlighted project was the exciting Bumblebee Conservation Trust, which helps you protect bees in your own back garden. Listen to learn more.
Join Nick, Lizzie, Nic and Naomi as they discuss the weeks science news, theme of the week and a noteworthy project.
This weeks theme was mimicry and they discussed a range of topics such as smelly carrion plants, sneaky batesian mimics and the terrifying spider-tailed hornet viper.
This weeks highlighted project was the exciting S.A.F.E conservation project based in Borneo. Listen to learn more
Join Nick, Lizzie, Nic and Naomi as they discuss the weeks science news, theme of the week and a noteworthy project.
This weeks theme is Firsts and we discuss a range of topics such as who has snails in their shoes, if figs are vegan and if birds are having a zombie apocalypse.
This weeks highlighted Conservation project was Yellowstone National Park, the first national park in the World. Listen to learn more