The Best Biome

In this month's Best Biome, Nicole tells the story of a grassland ecosystem so rare and so endangered that neither of her co-hosts had any idea it existed! We're talking about the once-ubiquitous canebrake ecosystems of the eastern United States, which were quite literally American bamboo forests, complete with their own prehistoric red pandas. Find out what happened to the unique rivercane landscape, and what's being done to save it today. Let the search for 30 ft.-tall grasses become your new obsession! Also, check out these great organizations doing rivercane restoration! Cherokee Preservation Foundation Rivercane Restoration Alliance Chattooga Conservancy Primary Sources: Phylogenetic relationships and natural hybridization among the North American woody bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Arundinaria) March 2010 https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3732/ajb.0900244 Campbell, Julian. 2012. Growth of Cane. Bluegrass Woodland Restoration Center. https://bluegrasswoodland.com/uploads/Arundinaria__Growth_of_Cane_.pdf Giant Cane and Other Native Bamboos: Establishment and Use for Conservation of Natural Resources in the Southeast USDA - NRCS 2021 https://bsapubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3732/ajb.0900244 +++ More of Our Work +++ Website Facebook TikTok Twitch Bluesky +++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: (316)-512-8933 info@grasslandgroupies.org +++ Support Us +++ Bonfire Merch Store CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies Or... donate directly to our org. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Our view of nature is often constrained by the idea of competition: life as a zero-sum game, where the victorious survive, and the defeated fade into extinction. But not every relationship in life is competitive! Sure, as living things, we must always be aware of our enemies, but our survival is just as closely tied to our social entanglements- our family, friends, neighbors, and communities. In a rebuttal to the hyper-competitive view of ecology, Rachel shares evidence from a growing field of botany that dares to look at how plants behave by applying social theory to their choices. There are many conversations happening among the plants of our grasslands that we haven't been hearing, and it's time to unpack the complexity of these interspecies relationships if we want to really understand how this ecosystem works. Primary Sources: Cahill Lab - University of Alberta: https://cahilllab.ca/ Megan K. Ljubotina and James F. Cahill Jr., “Effects of Neighbour Location and Nutrient Distributions on Root Foraging Behavior of the Common Sunflower,” Proceedings of the Royal Society B 286, no. 1911 (2019): 20190955 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.0955 Mónica López Pereira et al., “Light-Mediated Self Organization of Sunflower Stands Increases Oil Yield in the Field,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 114, no. 30 (2017): 7975–80. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1618990114 James F. Cahill Jr., “The Inevitability of Plant Behavior,” American Journal of Botany 106, no. 7 (2019): 903-5. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1313 Robin W. Kimmerer, “Asters and Goldenrod,” in Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (Minneapolis: Milkweed, 2013) +++ More of Our Work +++ Website Facebook TikTok Twitch Bluesky +++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: (316)-512-8933 info@grasslandgroupies.org +++ Support Us +++ Bonfire Merch Store CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies Or... donate directly to our org. This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Phytoremediation. A fun word to say, but what does it mean? Turns out it's quite simple: using the superpower many plants naturally have to heal our wonderful Earth from terrible soil contaminants. Allan pulls us off the dark abyss edge that is our current world to deliver a wonderful tale of plants. Primary Sources: Gerhardt KE, Gerwing PD, Greenberg BM. Opinion: Taking phytoremediation from proven technology to accepted practice. Plant Sci. 2017 Mar;256:170-185. Epub 2016 Dec 5. PMID: 28167031. Lee, Jae. (2013). An overview of phytoremediation as a potentially promising technology for environmental pollution control. Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering. 18. +++ More of Our Work +++ Website Facebook TikTok Twitch Bluesky +++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: (316)-512-8933 info@grasslandgroupies.org +++ Support Us +++ Bonfire Merch Store CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies Or... donate directly to our org.

The Best Biome finally reps reptiles properly as Nicole tells us all about an enormous lizard of the South American grasslands. Buckle up for voracious appetites, raging hormones, and an unexpected peek into the evolution of endothermy. This is: the world's hottest reptile. Primary Sources: Tattersall, G., et al. 2016. Seasonal reproductive endothermy in tegu lizards. Hervas, L., et al. 2024. Mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle contributes to reproductive endothermy in tegu lizards. Herrel, A., et al. 2013. Aggressive Behavior and Performance in the Tegu Lizard Tupinambis merianae. Chicago Journals. +++ More of Our Work +++ Website Facebook TikTok Twitch Bluesky +++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: (316)-512-8933 info@grasslandgroupies.org +++ Support Us +++ Bonfire Merch Store CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies Or... donate directly to our org.

This month on The Best Biome, Rachel takes us on a trip to the wetter, saltier cousin of grasslands: seagrass meadows! Is she making a desperate reach to connect the dots, or is she absolutely right that "seagrass meadows are the grasslands of the oceans?" Decide for yourself, dear listener, and get ready to think more about seaweed than you have in a while. Plus, there's manatees! A very special episode awaits. Primary Sources: Rundell, Katherine. 2024 Vanishing Treasures. Penguin Random House. ISBN: 9780385550826 - Bookshop Affiliate Link Ocean Portal - Pamela L Reynolds: Seagrass and Seagrass Beds: https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/plants-algae/seagrass-and-seagrass-beds O’Brien, K. R., et al. (2018). Seagrass ecosystem trajectory depends on the relative timescales of resistance, recovery and disturbance. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 134, 166–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.09.006 de Fouw J, Madden CJ, Furman BT, Hall MO, Verstijnen Y, Holthuijsen S, Frankovich TA, Strazisar T, Blaha M and Van Der Heide T (2024) Reduced seagrass resilience due to environmental and anthropogenic effects may lead to future die-off events in Florida Bay. Front. Mar. Sci. 11:1366939. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1366939 +++ More of Our Work +++ Website Facebook TikTok Twitch Bluesky +++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: (316)-512-8933 info@grasslandgroupies.org +++ Support Us +++ Bonfire Merch Store CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies Or... donate directly to our org.

The grasslands of Japan are beautiful, full of volcanos, and revered by the people living there. Japan's unique model of conservation method of Satoyamas is one we wish the US would model - one where people push to thrive alongside the environment, not claim or set it aside. Allan hosts this episode and the five minute math break in the middle has been severely shortened (though stick around past the credits for a bit more). Primary Sources: Chakraborty, S. (2018). The Interface of Geology, Ecology, and Society: The Case of Aso Volcanic Landscape. In: Chakraborty, A., Mokudai, K., Cooper, M., Watanabe, M., Chakraborty, S. (eds) Natural Heritage of Japan. Geoheritage, Geoparks and Geotourism. Springer, Cham. Sustaining Aso's Grasslands. Japanese Ministry of the Environment. Aso's Wildlife. Japanese Ministry of the Environment. Direct download: Satoyama in Japan: For Nature-Based Solutions (2022 Report). Japanese Ministry of the Environment. +++ More of Our Work +++ Website Facebook TikTok Twitch Bluesky +++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: (316)-512-8933 info@grasslandgroupies.org +++ Support Us +++ Bonfire Merch Store CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies Or... donate directly to our org.

In the final episode of the season for The Best Biome we lay out some concerns we have for the conservation of our beloved grasslands under a second term of the Trump administration. It's a hard discussion, but one we felt we needed to have. And boy was it a long one. If you don't feel up to listening now, we understand, though we still recommend you check out the action items at the end (see timestamps below to skip there). Much love to you all, and we'll be back in March. Timestamps: (00:00:00) Introduction (00:04:37) Nicole: Implications of DOI Changes (00:33:00) Brain Bleach Success Stories (00:35:45) Rachel: EPA Changes and the Author of Project 25 (01:09:58) Allan: The Fall of Science (01:41:06) Action Items (01:55:57) Outro Action Items: Learn more about the Monarch conservation plan and show your support (public comment period opens TODAY Dec 12 24): http://fws.gov/monarch Earthjustice Environmental Law - Rapid Response Legal Fund thru Dec 31: https://earthjustice.org/ North American Grasslands Conservation Act: https://actforgrasslands.org/ Engage with Citizen Science in your area: https://scistarter.org Citizen Science Projects by Federal Agencies: https://www.citizenscience.gov/catalog/ Inaction is not an option when it comes to fighting for what you believe in and those you love... but you don't have to do it all. Take care of yourself. Arm Yourself With Knowledge: Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen (Bookshop affiliate link) The Endangered Species Act Overview and Impact on Private Property Trilateral Committee’s work on buffalo | grasslands conservation Visitor Spending Effects - Economic Contributions of National Park Visitor Spending EPA Enforcement Data and Results Climate Disinformation Database | Mandy Gunasekara - EPA Project 2025 Author League of Conservation Voters: Lee Zeldin’s score card (incoming EPA admin) EPA Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights: Journey to Justice The Second Trump Administration Will Put Profit Over People and Opinions Over Facts. But We’re Prepared to Fight Back! Union of Concerned Scientists Attacks on Science. Union of Concerned Scientists +++ More of Our Work +++ Grassland Groupies' Website Facebook TikTok Twitch Bluesky +++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: (316)-512-8933 info@grasslandgroupies.org +++ Support Us +++ Bonfire Merch Store CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies Or... donate directly to our org.

A big animal can make big changes in their environment... and cause big problems for the people who live alongside it. African Elephants have a fascinating relationship to the savanna and the people who call it home, where it is equal parts feared and revered. The world of elephant conservation is complicated, and in this episode, Nicole examines the nuanced stories of these beautiful beasts and the conflicts that surround them. Primary Sources: https://www.elephantvoices.org/ - great general information hub on elephants, plus home of The Elephant Ethogram. The Fingernail Problem: How a Common Interpretive Technique Fuels Negative Attitudes and Harmful Stereotypes. National Association of Interpreters.  Sieber, C. 2019. Zoos Called It a ‘Rescue.’ But Are the Elephants Really Better Off? The New York Times Magazine.  +++ More of Our Work +++ Website Facebook TikTok Twitch +++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: (316)-512-8933 info@grasslandgroupies.org +++ Support Us +++ Bonfire Merch Store CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies Or... donate directly to our org.

Happy Halloween from your grasslands PR Team! This month, Rachel confronts one of her worst childhood fears to bring us a tale of the strange and slithering: a group of animals so odd and cryptic that the existence of many species was only confirmed after their habitat was bulldozed. We're delving into the fascinating world of worm lizards, a world full of unknowns that still begs to be explored. After all, how can we learn about an animal that's virtually impossible to observe in the wild? A fanged and ferocious creature that creeps below our feet, hearing our every step, and slipping ever deeper into the darkness... Primary Sources: Baeckens, S., García‐Roa, R., Martín, J., Ortega, J., Huyghe, K., & Damme, R. V. (2016). Fossorial and durophagous: implications of molluscivory for head size and bite capacity in a burrowing worm lizard. Journal of Zoology, 301(3), 193–205. Guynup, Sharon. (2021, June 6). “Race against time”: Saving the snakes and lizards of Brazil’s Cerrado. Mongabay Environmental News. García, E. R. (2020). How to maintain underground social relationships? Chemosensory sex, partner and self recognition in a fossorial amphisbaenian. PLoS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237188  García, E. R. (2021). Offspring and adult chemosensory recognition by an amphisbaenian reptile may allow maintaining familiar links in the fossorial environment. Peerj. Ribeiro, L. B., Gomides, S. C., & Costa, H. C. (2020). A New Worm Lizard Species (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae: Amphisbaena) with Non-autotomic Tail, from Northeastern Brazil. Journal of Herpetology, 54(1), 9. Ortega, J. (2021). Going underground: short- and long-term movements may reveal the fossorial spatial ecology of an amphisbaenian. Movement Ecology.  +++ More of Our Work +++ Website Facebook TikTok Twitch +++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: (316)-512-8933 info@grasslandgroupies.org +++ Support Us +++ Bonfire Merch Store CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies Or... donate directly to our org.

Possibly the best episode of all time (according to me, Rachel). Allan gives us EVERYTHING. Great science, high quality takes, crying with laughter, investigative reporting and red string conspiracy boards. To what end?? Drafting porcupines, well-known "tree-lovers," into the Best Biome (grasslands). Potentially. Hear us out! +++ Primary Sources +++ North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum). Alaska Department of Fish and Game- North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum). (n.d.). Porcupine Fossils: Gelbart, M. (2016, July 6). The extended pleistocene range of the Porcupine (erethizon dorsatum). GeorgiaBeforePeople. https://markgelbart.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/the-extended-pleistocene-range-of-the-porcupine-erethizon-dorsatum/ Antibiotic Quills: Roze, U., Locke, D. C., & Vatakis, N. (1990). Antibiotic properties of porcupine quills. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 16(3), 725–734. doi:10.1007/bf01016483 Geographic Differences in Behavior: Griesemer, S., R. DeGraaf. 1996. Denning pattern of porcupines, Erithizon dorsatum . Canadian Field Naturalist, 110/4: 634-637. Ilse, L., E. Hellgren. 2001. Demographic and behavioral characteristics of North American porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) in pinyon-juniper woodlands of Texas. The American Midland Naturalist, 146/2: 329-338. Sweitzer, R., J. Berger. 1992. Size-related effects of predation on habitat use and behavior of porcupines. Ecology, 73: 567-875. +++ More of Our Work +++ Filthy Animals (Podcast) Website Facebook TikTok Twitch +++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: (316)-512-8933 info@grasslandgroupies.org +++ Support Us +++ Bonfire Merch Store CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies Or... donate directly to our org.

Bees know more than you. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but they definitely know more than you realize! From complex problem solving to tool use to wing-sparkle navigation, bees illuminate our understanding of insect cognition. In this episode, Nicole invites us to perceive the world as our buzzy, bumbly friends might, in beautifully smooth 240 fps. Primary Source: Buchmann, S. 2023. What a Bee Knows: Exploring the Thoughts, Memories, and Personalities of Bees. Island Press. Support us and indie bookstores when you buy the book through this Bookshop.org link! Contact: Website Facebook TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

Desertification is a major threat to many grasslands, so let's study the best real-world example: The Horqin Grassland, aka the Horqin Sandy Lands. How has this landscape changed over time, what can it teach us about the future of arid grasslands, and which approaches by Inner Mongolia and China to fight desertification give us hope? We love a hopeful story, and this certainly is one. Primary Sources: Visual timeline of land deterioration and reversals. (Image) https://www.scitepress.org/PublishedPapers/2021/110202/110202.pdf  Song, C., Wang, S., & Lu, W. (2021). Landscapes in the Horqin Sandy Land: Patterns And Processes. Proceedings of The International Conference on Water Resource and Environment. https://doi.org/10.5220/0011020200003354  Huang, W., He, Y., Wang, H., Zhao, X., & Zhu, Y. (2023). Long-term effects of restoration on the links between above-and belowground biodiversity in degraded Horqin Sandy Grassland, northern China. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1128187   Chen, Q., Yang, X., Kwon, S., Li, Y., Liu, J., & Zhang, K. (2023). Woody plant cover trends and potential drivers in the Horqin Temperate Steppe, Northeast China: Remote Sensing-based computation and modeling. Ecological Indicators, 146. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109789 Serod, Tsedevdorj. (2018). Population changes behind grassland degradation in Horqin region of Inner Mongolia , China. Research of One Health. https://www.academia.edu/109077058/Population_changes_behind_grassland_degradation_in_Horqin_region_of_Inner_Mongolia_China Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

We get patriotic (kinda) in this special episode where all three hosts work together to petition for new national symbols for the US of A. New floral emblem, new national symbol, and a brand new category all-together. Why do we love non-native national symbols? Who knows. Do better, America. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: As if this silly episode could have any. Do let us know who picked the best emblem though. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox; CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies

The fastest land animal in North America, second fastest in the world: the graceful, wonderful, pronghorn. Nicole shares all the reasons these icons of the American prairie are truly the best from their evolutionary history to their epic stare battles between each other and rump flashes to warn of predators. Primary Sources: Kitchen, D. 1974. Social Behavior and Ecology of the Pronghorn. Wildlife Monographs, No. 38., pp 3-96. Bender, L., Rosas-Rosas, O.,Hartsough, M., Rodden, C., Morrow, P. 2019. Effect of predation on adult pronghorn Antilocapra americana (Antilocapridae) in New Mexico, Southwestern USA. Mammalia, 2019, Vol 83, Issue 3 p.248-254. On the Move: Pronghorn Migrations Across Seasons. The Nature Conservancy and National Wildlife Federation. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox, CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies

Patas Monkeys are weird little guys with fabulous mustaches and very intricate relationships with a special tree on the African savannah. We talk acacias, ants, and the Lorax as Allan tries to make Nicole love just a single primate. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Palmer, T., Stanton, M., Young T., Goheen, J., Pringle, R., and Karban, R. 2008. Breakdown of an ant-plant mutualism follows the loss of large herbivores from an African savanna. Isbell, L. and Young, T. 2007. Interspecific and temporal variation of ant species within Acacia drepanolobium ant domatia, a staple food of patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) in Laikipia, Kenya Dr. Seuss and the real Lorax. Dominy, N., Winters, S., Pease, D., Higham, J. 2018. Dr Seuss and the real Lorax. Nature Ecology & Evolution. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

The long-legged, sickle claw wielding seriema is a wonderful bird that provides insight into the extinct terror birds of old. Rachel explains the link between past and present and we ponder whether or not scientists ever bother actually looking at birds. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Oswald, T., Curtice, B., Bolander, M., Lopez, C. January 2023. Observation of Claw Use and Feeding Behavior of the Red-Legged Seriema and Its Implication for Claw Use in Deinonychosaurs. Journal of the Arizona-Nevada Academy of Science. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

The conservation story of Canada's polar-vortex-loving Wood Bison is one of colossal mistakes, stacked odds, and (to our gleeful surprise) hope and optimism. These animals have survived drowning, disease, and hybridization, and have gone on to... success? Allan explores this topic in today's episode. Primary Sources: 2018 Wood Bison Recovery Strategy (SARA Series) https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/recovery-strategies/wood-bison-2018.html#toc11 Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

It's snowy and getting colder where we're at, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go outside. Rachel gives a compelling argument as to why winter is the best time of year for birding and gives insight into the Christmas Bird Count: a citizen science project dating back over a hundred years. Learn more about the Christmas Bird Count here. Primary Sources: Gill, F. B., Prum, R. O., & Robinson, S. K. (2019). Ornithology. W.H. Freeman, Macmillan Learning. Sibley, D. (2020). What it’s like to be a bird: From flying to nesting, eating to singing -- what birds are doing, and why. Alfred A. Knopf. Affiliate purchase link. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies

This episode is a little different. We celebrate spooky season with the haunting tales of feldgeist, Sinkhole Sam, and the Ohio Grassman. These stories haunt the minds of those who visit prairies and fields across the globe. Be weary, you never know what's lurking in the tall grass. Photos and more are at our site. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

Grasshopper mice are small but fierce. They howl like wolves, stalk their prey like cats, and finish up with a quick face clean. These solitary animals like to live life dangerously and enjoy even venomous meals. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Grasshopper Mouse Hunting and Howling [YouTube] Animal Diversity Web. Regents of the University of Michigan. USDA Bulletin: Life History and Habits of Grass-hopper mice, genus Onychomys. (1939). [PDF] Richardson, D., Karczmar, A. G., & Scudder, C. L. (1972). Intergeneric behavioral differences among methamphetamine treated mice. Psychopharmacologia, 25(4), 347–375. Tracey Switek. Onychomys: Tiny Terror of the Western Deserts. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox