Adam regales us with one of the weirdest stories I’ve ever heard, and in case you were wondering, yes we do talk about how mermaids have sex. Jesus. Also there’s some cool ecology. Like how did mermaids evolve? Was it from a mutated baby tossed overboard? Probably not.
05:19 – Mermaids in Cinema
16:35 – Ecology of the Mermaids
33:25 – Mermaid Copulation (you were warned)
38:07 – The Mermaids vs. Jaws
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Predators are known to affect prey while they are adults and juveniles, but what about when they haven’t even hatched yet? (Image Credit: Bernt Rostad, CC BY 2.0)
Predation risk affects egg mortality and carry over effects in the larval stages in damselflies (2018) Sniegula et al., Freshwater Biology, p. 1-9
In the natural world, one of the most dangerous things that a prey animal has to worry about is a predator. These organisms depend on the prey for their sustenance, and as such have become very good at finding ways to eat them. These are known as direct effects, as a predator eating prey is a direct interaction.
Another aspect of the predator-prey relationship is that of indirect effects, or effects that a predator has on prey that don’t involve it eating the prey animal. These can include predator-induced changes in the prey’s behavior, immune function, or even survival. These indirect effects are usually studied in prey species that are adults or juveniles, but the authors of today’s paper were interested in what indirect effects predators had on the eggs of prey species.
In our second week on the dragons of Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, we have a flamin’ good time discovering why those dragons are WAY too wacky, exactly how much intraspecies predation goes on in Berk and why you should really make up your mind about domestication.
03:49 – Vikings in Cinema
10:57 – Ecology of the Dragons
29:17 – Toothless vs. the Furious Five
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Fishing is an important part of Australian society. So is communication between fish scientists and fishers strong enough? (Image Credit: State Library of Queensland, CC0)
A release of the formerly endangered Running River Rainbowfish. So how were they brought back from near-extinction? (Image Credit: Karl Moy, University of Canberra, CC BY-SA 4.0)
In 2015, Peter Unmack was sampling in the Burdekin river system in northern Queensland, Australia, when he noticed an alien population of Eastern Rainbowfish had established in Running River. Specifically a 13km stretch bounded by two gorges, which housed the Running River Rainbowfish, a species distinct to this one stretch. Knowing that the presence of the Eastern Rainbowfish could spell the extinction of the local species, he started a crowdfunding initiative, and essentially saved the Running River Rainbowfish. I spoke to Peter and postgraduate student Karl Moy about the conservation effort.
We submerge ourselves into the murky depths of what is clearly a backyard pool and meet… yet another man in a suit. This week is all about the Gillman from 1712’s The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Dave and Adam both need more bloody caffeine.
4:29 – Movie History
14:23 – Physiology of the Gillman
37:51 – Ecology of the Gillman
1:01:56 – The Gillman vs. Richard Strickland from The Shape of Water
When we monitor the fluctuations of a population, we often look at vital rates, a huge part of which is reproductive success. The success that males have in siring offspring can be hugely influenced by the density of a population, particularly when it comes to a breeding ground.
Larger males will often outcompete smaller males on such grounds, however in many species these males will often reach reproductive limits, at which point smaller males can benefit. Smaller males may also fare better in less dense populations, where females lack other individuals to compare them to. Our study today looks at variations in reproductive success of a nest-breeding fish species over two levels of density.
