Flashback episode with Charlotte Mills

Way back on episode 39 Charlotte Mills was a PhD student at UNSW. She has since completed her PhD and is now Dr Charlotte Mills. Charlotte describes her time as a PhD candidate as a ‘choose-your-own-adventure’ experience. This experience has taken her across the magical desert landscapes of inland Australia and continues to be an exciting adventure. https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/xewqm8/charlottemills.mp3 Follow Charlotte on Twitter @EcologistMills Music: ‘Strange Stuff’ … Continue reading Flashback episode with Charlotte Mills

Flashback episode with Dr Dieter Hochuli

This flashback episode takes us back to episode 60 where we chat with Dieter Hochuli, an invertebrate biologist and urban ecologist from the University of Sydney who studies how nature survives in towns and cities. His research investigates the ecological, economical and psychological benefits of nature in cities, and how our modern way of life affects the plants and animals around us. https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/6ryypj/Dieter_Hochuli.mp3 In an … Continue reading Flashback episode with Dr Dieter Hochuli

Ep 89. Tiny gardeners and environmental educators with Matthew McKenzie

Matthew McKenzie is the principal and head teacher of a public school with a difference. Thalgarrah Environmental Education Centre is located in the woodlands outside of Armidale in regional NSW. It is part of a network of environmental and zoo education centres across NSW that provide other schools with a base for excursions, camps and experiences focussed on using nature as a learning and teaching … Continue reading Ep 89. Tiny gardeners and environmental educators with Matthew McKenzie

Ep 86. Science puns and stand-up comedy with Benji Kessler

Benji Kessler is a man of many talents, he studies the behaviour of spiders, teaches mathematics to school kids, does stand-up comedy and looks great in a Spider-Man costume. Benji is currently visiting Australia from the USA where he is doing his PhD at the University of California. He was nice enough to sit down for a chat to talk about how a severe arachnophobe … Continue reading Ep 86. Science puns and stand-up comedy with Benji Kessler

Ep 85. Theory vs reality, and dancing in the middle with Alva Curtsdotter

Some scientists go out in to the field, collect data and conduct experiments to test their hypotheses. Other scientists conduct their experiments inside a computer. Alva Curtsdotter is a theoretical ecologist at the University of New England that studies the behaviour of animal populations across natural landscapes,  but instead of spending her time surveying and measuring real world populations she runs computer simulations to see … Continue reading Ep 85. Theory vs reality, and dancing in the middle with Alva Curtsdotter

Ep 82. Emu farming, pregnancy tips and Bill Nye the Science Guy with Andrew Katsis

A single tweet can make all the difference, or at least it did for Andrew Katsis, who decided to get involved in the #billmeetsciencetwitter trend. Little did he know that his tweet would be seen by American television producers, who decided to fly Andrew over to LA to talk about this research on the Netflix show ‘Bill Nye Saves the World’. Andrew’s research looks at … Continue reading Ep 82. Emu farming, pregnancy tips and Bill Nye the Science Guy with Andrew Katsis

Ep 80. Deception, maths and parental expectations with Amy Martin

Amy Martin is a researcher at the University of Auckland that studies the incredible private lives of orchids that trick male wasps into mating with them. By depriving these wasp populations of male sperm they can actually have long term effects on the wasp populations. Amy says that this is why deceptive orchids the world over tend to use haplodiploid insects as their pollinators as … Continue reading Ep 80. Deception, maths and parental expectations with Amy Martin

Ep 78. Lizard fights and crafternoons with Fonti Kar

Fonti Kar is a behavioural ecologist from the University of New South Wales. She studies the life history of skinks and how the conditions they are born in can affect their behaviour and development later on in life. In this interview Fonti we dive deep into what it takes to be a productive scientist and the pros and cons of forging out a career in … Continue reading Ep 78. Lizard fights and crafternoons with Fonti Kar

How much water does it take to grow a duck?

Wetlands, despite their name, aren’t always wet. But when the rain starts and the rivers flow theses dynamic landscapes can flourish with life. Though the question remains, how much water is enough? Freshwater ecosystems have been significantly altered by water management for human use. In particular, flow regulation has resulted in enormous declines in both the extent and health of wetlands. In 2018 Lindsey Frost … Continue reading How much water does it take to grow a duck?

How does a truffle travel?

    How does a truffle travel? Sounds like a cheesy joke buts its a serious ecological question. Truffles are underground fungi that are dug up by animals and spread throughout forests. Their presence in the soil helps plants survive and cause soils to be turned over by animals. Fungi provide vital ecosystem functions by forming mycorrhizal associations with plants and are vital to the … Continue reading How does a truffle travel?