Nature's Archive

Have you ever wondered what it takes to bring a species back from the brink of extinction? Today, we’re diving into the front lines of one of the most challenging and inspiring conservation efforts of our time, with Sophie Osborn as our guide. This episode unravels the incredible stories of the Peregrine Falcon, Hawaiian Crow, and California Condor—three iconic birds with a common thread of survival against the odds.We’ll explore the daunting threats these birds have faced, and surprisingly, ...

Have you ever wondered how biologists figure out how plants respond to drought, heat, cold, and other environmental factors? One way is to study phenology. That’s a fancy word that accounts for seasonal and cyclical growth patterns of plants and animals. Researchers can look at various attributes, like when a plant flowers, leafs out, drops leaves, and more, and then see how that correlates to environmental factors, weather, climate, and genetics.Today, our guest is Dr. Hanna Makowski, a...

Nature's Archive has published 100 episodes now. Well, actually over 100, because I normally don't count solo episodes.This week, I wanted to share one of the most important lessons I've learned from these past four years and 100 episodes. Spoiler: it's an angle on how 'everything is connected', and a deeper, more profound understanding of ecosystem services.Regular interview episodes return in two weeks, so stay tuned! FULL SHOW NOTESLINKSCadillac Desert by Marc ReisnerWildfire with Lenya Qu...

Have you ever watched Planet Earth and wondered how they get that amazing footage of elusive and wild animals? Get ready to learn about that and much more.Wildlife photographer Jake Davis shares his incredible journey from a 10-year-old with a disposable camera to capturing stunning footage for Planet Earth. Jake dives into the challenges and triumphs of filming elusive snow leopards in the Gobi Desert, including the technical intricacies of setting up camera traps. He also recounts dramatic ...

Have you seen all of the scary headlines about massive venomous Joro spiders invading the eastern USA? Well, as you might imagine, these headlines are designed to drive clicks so that individuals and media can monetize their content.Dr. Sarah Rose helps set the record straight, and also answers some questions about spider mating rituals, which turn out to be complex and fascinating!And after that short Q&A, we play the full interview with Dr. Rose from Episode 58. Here is the introduction...

The ocean’s surface is a bit like the cover of a book. We have a title - the ocean - which gives us a hint about what it is. And we probably have some preconceived ideas about it based on the cover graphics or author.But we can’t see inside to truly understand the stories it wants to tell. One of those stories is about a forest - yes, an underwater forest that serves multiple critical purposes for life on earth. I’m talking about kelp forests, which generates oxygen, stores carbon, balan...

Forestry is incredibly interesting and important, and it really speaks to me personally, because it’s one of these fields that is inherently interdisciplinary. You have to understand how things relate and connect to create a healthy, sustainable system. But traditionally, forestry was all about resource extraction, which often is done at the expense of long term sustainability.And my guest today, Ethan Tapper, is just the person to help us understand how forestry is changing. Ethan is a ...

Snakes are the perfect topic for Nature’s Archive. They are often over-generalized to fit a worst-case stereotype, but they are critically important to our food webs and ecosystems. And like so much of what we discuss, once you start learning just a bit about them, you see how amazing and diverse they are.And there are few better suited to guide us through the world of snakes than Dr. Emily Taylor. Dr. Taylor is a professor of biological sciences at California Poly San Luis Obispo and has bee...

2024 is going to be another year of the cicada, with the emergence of two periodical cicada groups, or broods (Brood XIII and Brood XIX), at the same time, roughly in late April to early May.Now, throughout much of the world, cicadas serenade us in summer afternoons - you might be familiar with that, and wonder “what’s the big deal”.But in a few special locations, periodical cicadas emerge on a specific cycle, every 13 or 17 years. These emergences are like clockwork - somehow these insects k...

When it comes to understanding nature, it often seems like the ocean surface - that undulating reflective layer of water - is more like an impenetrable curtain than just a layer of water. There is just so much we don’t know about, and are too quick to dismiss, all because we can’t easily observe what’s going on down there.Thankfully, octopuses are having a renaissance in popular culture, and as a result, serve as sort of an ambassador to the oceans. And this is in no small part due to the eff...

My guest today is Dr. Rae Wynn-Grant. Dr. Wynn-Grant is the co-host of Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, is a wildlife ecologist and affiliated researcher at the UC Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental and Science Management. She’s also an author, with her new memoir entitled “Wild Life” coming out on April 2.Today we discuss Dr. Wynn-Grant’s unique and inspiring personal journey into wildlife ecology, her awakening to the world of environmental justice, triggered by Hurricane Katrina, as...

Have you ever seen a fuzzy looking ant? Maybe it looked like a little pipe cleaner with fuzzy red or yellow hair? If so, you probably saw a velvet ant. And here’s the thing - it’s not even an ant at all. They’re wingless wasps, and they often turn up along hiking trails, roadsides, and sometimes even in your backyard! And if you haven’t seen one, hit pause and check out the show notes on naturesarchive.com for a few photos.What’s more, these wasps have quite the reputation and an amazing natu...

In nature, tree physiology is like the engine that keeps forests running smoothly, similar to how human physiology keeps our bodies going. Just as we study how our bodies' metabolism, respiratory systems, and other systems work to keep us healthy, biologists can look at tree physiology to understand how trees grow, use energy, and cope with challenges in their environment.Today’s guest, Dr. Lucy Kerhoulas, is an Associate Professor of Forest Ecophysiology at Cal-Poly Humboldt. She specializes...

You’re in for a treat today - it’s like two episodes in one.My guest today is Allasandra Valdez, a botanist working on her PhD in plant physiology in Cornell University’s Ecology and Evolutionary Biology department. Allasandra also has a background studying invasive species, and is the creator and host of The Happy Botanist podcast.Today’s wide-ranging discussion touches on everything from studying plants' response to climate change through looking at carbon 13 isotopes, to invasive spe...

Many of you might recall the dramatic 2020 fire season in the western USA. In California alone, close to 4 million acres burned. Cities were clouded with smoke and unhealthy air for many weeks. I had ash fall at my home in San Jose, CA on several occasions.But did you know that based on pre-colonial historical estimates, 4 million acres burned would be considered “below average”. How can that be? Does that mean that every summer in the 1700’s had smoke filled air and devastating fires? Spoile...