Natural Selections: "Couch potato" bass evolving in response to human predation
(Oct 21, 2021) The pressure to keep billions of humans fed can have a transformative impact on amimal populations. Overharvesting that targe...
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Science & Medicine
Natural Selections
Conversations about the natural world with Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley, from member-supported North Country Public Radio.
Episodes
20 of 99 episodesNatural Selections: Get to know your closet nemesis, the clothes moth
(Oct 14, 2021) Keratin, the substance wool, hair, and feathers are made from, makes a pretty thin diet, but the clothes moth has been doggin...
Natural Selections: For cats, the comfort zone is shaped like a box
(Oct 7, 2021) Of all the places a cat can hang out, why do do many of them want to hang out in boxes? According to researchers, cats that sp...
Natural Selections: How nature journals put the history in natural history
(Sep 30, 2021) Martha Foley has never succeeded in keeping a nature journal long-term, but Curt Stager finds them invaluable in his work. He...
Natural Selections: Bats can sing, too!
(Sep 23, 2021) Humans, birds, and whales are not the only creatures who can sing. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss recent research t...
Natural Selections: Just how individual are animals?
(Sep 16, 2021) We tend to think that dogs do this, and that cats do that. We think animal species have a recognizable set of behaviors that...
More fish: good for the flowers, bad for the snakes
(Sep 9, 2021) The complex web of species interaction is full of odd associations. Stocking a lake with fish cuts down on dragonflies, which...
Really, really big bugs (and some tiny ones, too)
(Sep 2, 2021) Martha Foley? - not a fan of bugs. And Curt Stager took a course on them to steady his own reactions. The Natural Selections t...
Natural Selections: The evolution of breathing
(Aug 26, 2021) All creatures breathe in some fashion, but how the job gets done has changed from fish to amphibian to reptile to mammal. Cur...
Natural Selections: Why pigeons feel at home in the city
(Aug 19, 2021) The ubiquitous bird of cities and towns was designed for a different environment. The pigeon's distinctive style of flig...
Natural Selections: Pigeons are doves, high-rises are cliffs
(Aug 12, 2021) Pigeons and doves, both domestic and feral, are the same species. Today's urban environment mimics their original favore...
Northern Flicker, the anteater of the woodpecker family
(Aug 5, 2021) The Northern Flicker is one of the most recognizable birds. This distinctly-marked member of the woodpecker family, instead of...
Natural Selections: Why manatees are related to elephants, and whales are related to deer
(Jul 29, 2021) Animals that resemble each other may not be closely related. Sometimes the setting shapes their bodies more than their ancest...
The manatee: like the mermaid, its kin live on land
(Jul 22, 2021) The big marine herbivore, the manatee, is thought by some to be the origin of mermaid legends, but it's not closely rela...
Natural Selections: Can ADK lake trout survive climate change?
(Jul 15, 2021) Lake trout require a lot of cold, oxygenated water to survive. Lakes in the Adirondacks of upstate New York are at the southe...
Natural Selections: The shorter winged Cliff Swallows prevail
(Jul 8, 2021) Researchers have found that variations in the wingspan of cliff swallows has a measurable impact on their survival in a human-...
Natural Selections: Turns out bullheads ('trash fish') are really good parents
(Jul 1, 2021)
Natural Selections: hyenas get a bad rap
(Jun 24, 2021)
Natural Selections: Why does hair just keep growing?
(Jun 17, 2021)
Natural Selections: The curious history of Malaria in the U.S.
(Jun 3, 2021)