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 from that episode:

Today we’re going to discuss an animal that can make wind sails, cast nets, produce its own antifreeze, and is an A-list impersonator. Well, it’s not one animal, but a category of animals – spiders!

And my guest today, Dr. Sarah Rose, is here to tell us all about it. Dr. Rose is the author of a spectacular new field guide, Spiders of North America from Princeton University Press, is chair of the American Arachnological Society’s Common Names Committee, and has a PhD in Restoration Ecology from The Ohio State University.

We discuss Sarah’s journey to spiders, including her research into how spiders function as indicator species for habitats and ecosystems. Sarah tells us about the varied lifestyles of spiders, ranging from orb web weavers to sensing web weavers to ambush hunters, and more. We talk about different types of webs, spider guilds, profile some particularly interesting species such as the trash-line orb weaver, bolus spiders, and ant mimicking spiders, and much more.

And be sure to check Sarah’s YouTube for lots of fun spider videos.

Check the full show notes (link below) for some amazing spider photographs.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
All Bugs Go To Kevin – Facebook group
American Arachnological Society
Jack Pine Forests
Joro Spider Post by Dr. Rose
Lucas the Spider – a YouTube channel with a cute animated jumping spider
Spider Guilds – Cardoso et al

Books
Common Spiders of North America by Richard Bradley and Steve Buchanan (illustrator)
Spiders of North America, An Identification Manual, by Darrell Ubick (Editor), Pierre Paquin (Editor), Paula Cushing (Editor), Nadine Dupérré (Illustrator)
Spiders of North America, by Dr. Sarah Rose [Princeton University Press | Amazon]

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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

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, balances chemical cycles critical to life, and supports amazing biodiverse habitats.

But kelp are in trouble. In fact, 96% of the kelp forests in today’s guest’s region have disappeared in just a few years, and the reasons are multiple and solutions unclear.

And that guest is Tristin Anoush McHugh, the Kelp Project Director for The Nature Conservancy in California.

I knew I had to meet Tristin after seeing a wonderful short film called Forests Above and Forests Below, which was written and narrated by Tristin. It’s a powerful 6 minute film - check the show notes for a link.

And Tristin didn’t disappoint! Today Tristin helps us understand what kelp are and why they are in trouble. We discuss the complex relationships they have with sea otters, purple urchins, and sunflower sea stars.

We also discuss the dramatic impacts of sea star wasting disease, as well as how warming oceans might be disrupting kelps ability to reproduce.

I found the conversation to be incredibly enlightening, and extremely important. Oceans are disproportionately important to our climate and life in general, yet we all too often keep that book closed and on the shelf.

You can find Tristin at Tristin.McHugh(at)TNC(dot)org.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
Forests Above and Forests Below

Friday Harbor Labs, Jason Hodin - an article about his research on sea star wasting disease

Reef Check is looking for diving volunteers

The Bay Foundation - restoring Santa Monica Bay

Kelp Forest Alliance

Thanks to Erica Zador for editing help!

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

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 professional forester, and has incredibly unique personal experiences, which have helped him gain a compelling perspective on what makes for a “healthy” forest, and the trade-offs involved in getting there.

Ethan personally manages a tract of forest called Bear Island in Vermont, and has had to deal with expanses of invasive species, disease, mismanagement, and much more to turn the tides and make the forest healthier.

Today, we discuss exactly how Ethan defines what a healthy forest is, the trade-offs he considers when facing challenges such as invasive species and disease, the use of herbicides and forest thinning, and much more.

And by the way, Ethan has packaged his personal journey into a book, due out in September 2024 called How to Love a Forest. And you can find him on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Also find Ethan at ethantapper.com, and his new consultancy, Bear Island Forestry.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Bringing Nature Home – by Doug Tallamy
The Hidden Forest Biography of an Ecosystem by Jon R. Luoma [Amazon Link]
Nature’s Best Hope – by Doug Tallamy, Dr. Tallamy’s 2020 release
The Nature of Oaks: The Rich Ecology of Our Most Essential Native Trees – by Doug Tallamy, 2021
Runes of the North by Sigurd Olsen

Previous Podcast Episodes Mentioned
Doug Tallamy on Nature's Archive

People and Organizations
Griff Griffith TikTok / Facebook and Redwoods Rising TikTok / Facebook
Kyle Lybarger at The Native Habitat Project
Tom Groves

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

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 been studying mating systems and physiology of rattlesnakes for 25 years. She’s also founder of Project RattleCam, which monitors a huge Prairie Rattlesnake rookery in Colorado, founder of Central Coast Snake Services, and an author. In fact, her latest book California Snakes and How to Find Them comes out on May 7 2024, which is literally tomorrow from the original release date of this podcast.

Today, we discuss the diversity of snakes across the United States - and I have to say, I kept saying United Snakes as I tried to read this the first time. And of course, how to find snakes, just like in the title of her book.

We discuss what different snakes eat, why the Kingsnake is named kingsnake, why live animals can’t simply claw their way out of a snake’s belly, and what it’s like to be surrounded by dozens of rattlesnakes all rattling at the same time.

Of course, we also discuss how snakes contribute to our ecosystems, and the threats that they face.

Dr. Taylor can be found on Instagram, Twitter, and Threads as @snakeymama

You can check emilytaylorscience.com for events she is attending and much more.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
Advocates for Snake Preservation
California Snakes and How to Find Them - the NEW book!
Central Coast Snake Services
Dr. Christina Zdenek - Australian snake researcher, IG, Twitter
Free Snake Relocation Directory
Marissa Ishimatsu - major photographic contributor to Dr. Taylor's new book. Check Marissa's instagram for incredible snake and nature photography
Project RattleCam
Raptors Are The Solution - resources for dealing with rodents that don't harm snakes, birds, and pets
Save the Snakes

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

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 know exactly when to emerge from the ground, in synchrony with each other, across a vast geography.

But it gets better still. Multiple species of cicada emerge together, sometimes in massive numbers approaching 1.5 million per acre of land.

And weirder still, these same species might emerge on a totally different schedule, offset by years, in areas a few hundred miles away.

What’s going on here? Well, this is just the start when it comes to the amazing aspects of cicadas. And today’s guest, Dr. Chris Simon, is perhaps the world’s expert on Cicadas. She joined me for an incredible wide-ranging discussion all the way from New Zealand.

Dr. Simon has been studying cicadas for decades. She is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, and has a list of accolades so long that I could spend several minutes reading them.

So get ready to learn why these broods of cicadas emerge as they do, how glaciation influenced their locations, why 13 year cicadas tend to occur further south than 17 year cicadas, and of course, how you can see them too.

You can find more about Dr. Simon at cicadas.uconn.edu. And if you are interested in helping contribute to research on cicadas, download the cicada safari app from Apple or Google. More on that in the episode.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS

University of Connecticut Cicada Website that includes the recordings heard in today's episode.

Cicada Mania has more information on cicadas!
Cicada Safari App
Gene Kritsky's book "A Tale of Two Broods: The 2024 Emergence of Periodical Cicada Broods XIII and XIX"
Scissors Grinder (an annual cicada we mentioned)
The Queen of Trees Documentary
Tumble Science Podcast for Kids has an episode with Dr. Simon

Thanks to Kat Hill for editing help this week.

Thanks to the University of Connecticut and Dr. John Cooley for use of the cicada recordings heard in today's episode, found on cicadas.uconn.edu.

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

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 efforts of my guests today, Sy Montgomery and Warren Carlyle.

Sy Montgomery is the author of Soul of the Octopus and Secrets of the Octopus, among her many works.

And Warren Carlyle is the founder of OctoNation, a nonprofit octopus fan club boasting over a million members, and they have information on and photos and videos of nearly every octopus species on Earth.

Today we discuss just how incredible octopuses - and I admit, standard words like amazing and incredible just seem to fall short when describing these creatures.

They can contort and fit through tiny holes, change their color and texture in the blink of an eye, they can reason, some can use tools, and they are incredibly strong. They range in size from a kernel of corn to 300 pounds.

We cover a range of topics, but we delve deepest into exploring their intelligence. This, coupled with their distinctive lifestyle, physiology, and abilities, often leaves us humans astounded.

Sy and Warren had a new book, Secrets of the Octopus, released on March 19 2024, and are contributing to an exciting three part National Geographic TV series coming out on Earth Day 2024.

You can find Sy at symontgomery.com, and check out Warren’s efforts at octonation.com and @octonation on most social media platforms.

Get ready for a jaw-dropping and mind bending discussion about octopuses with Sy Montgomery and Warren Carlyle.

FULL SHOW NOTES

Links

Big Eye Jellyhead video ballooning like a parachute
OctoNation (and Octopedia) - Instagram , Facebook, TikTok
secretsoftheoctopus.com - The new book!
www.symontgomery.com
Dr. Alex Schnell
Warren on Social Media: IG
Sy on Social Media: IG

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

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 well as some of her active research pursuits, including her work with bears and mountain lions that seem to have a propensity for visiting the beach.

I really enjoyed both the book and the conversation today, because Dr. Wynn-Grant has so many facets of her story that I can relate to, and that I find inspiring, and I think you will too.

Find Dr. Wynn-Grant on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, or her website.

FULL SHOW NOTES

LINKS
Dangermond Preserve
Going Wild Podcast
Mapping Environmental Justice
Wild Life - Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World - by Rae Wynn-Grant

Thanks to Kat Hill for editing help on this episode.

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
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Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!

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 natural history.

With me today is Dr. Joseph Wilson, an evolutionary ecologist and associate professor of biology at Utah State University. Dr. Wilson is also the co-author of the new book, Velvet Ants of North America, as well as the wildly popular The Bees in Your Backyard.

I reached out to Dr. Wilson because I’ve always been fascinated with velvet ants, but found precious little information about them. I purchased the book and reached out to Dr. Wilson, and he graciously agreed to share some of his knowledge.

For example, did you know that some velvet ants have an auditory warning? And half of velvet ants are nocturnal? We discuss why we seem to usually see velvet ants deterministically wandering near trails, why they are often - and inaccurately - called cow killers, and more.

But I couldn’t have a chat with Dr. Wilson and not talk bees, so we kick things off with some discussion of bees, buzz pollination and more before transitioning to velvet ants.

Find Dr. Wilson on The Bees in Your Backyard, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

FULL SHOW NOTES

MORE LINKS
Also check out our interview with Krystle Hickman (episode #66) - about finding and photographing native bees.

The Bees in Your Backyard by Olivia Messinger Carril and Joseph Wilson
Common Bees of Western North America
Common Bees of Eastern North America
Velvet Ants of North America by Williams, Pan, and Wilson

Note: books are affiliate links to Bookshop.org. Support independent bookstores AND Jumpstart Nature by purchasing through these links or our bookshop store.

Other Insect-oriented Podcasts

Just Bugs
Bug Banter
Bugs Need Heroes

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Music: Spellbound by Brian Holtz Music
License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license
Artist site: https://brianholtzmusic.com

Discover the Jumpstart Nature Podcast - entertaining and immersive, it's the nature fix we all need.

Check past Nature's Archive episodes for amazing guests like Doug Tallamy, Elaine Ingham, and Gabe Brown, covering topics from bird migration to fungi to frogs and bats!