New OxPods episode is out! Found on our website, Spotify, Google and Apple podcasts.
The survival of offspring is essential for the continuation of species, and yet we see a huge diversity in how much parental care is provided to offspring across the tree of life. So how necessary is it to provide care to your young, and what determines the different strategies employed by differing species? In this episode of OxPods, I chat to Prof Ashleigh Griffin, who studies why selection favours social behaviour in the context of reproduction.
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Have just got back from a really enjoyable Easter and birthday trip to the Cairngorms. I’ve only been to Edinburgh in Scotland before, and so I found the wildlife and landscape in the Cairngorms to be very special and super different to anywhere else in the UK. The pine woodlands had a very ethereal soundscape, with seemingly endless squeaks and chirrups from countless coal tits and siskins. One of the aims of the trip was to see a dipper, a species that, despite being relatively common in regions of the UK, I’ve never seen before. Luckily, we were staying in the small town of Braemar, which has Clunie Water (a tributary of the River Dee) running through it, and so it wasn’t long before I had a glimpse of the species whizzing along the stream like an airborne clockwork toy. A day later, we went for a small hike and wild swimming at Glen Lui, where not only did I see another dipper, but one that was building a nest into the bank of the river.
All in all, the trip was fantastic, seeing 61 species across 4 days, including 4 species that I had never seen before. I will definitely be re-visiting the Cairngorms! New OxPods episode out! Found on our website, Spotify, Google and Apple podcasts.
Darwin’s theory of evolution and selection states that characteristics which aid survival and reproduction will be favoured, however, this doesn’t only refer to physical attributes, but also behavioural ones. But how do behaviours arise, how do they spread through populations, and what role do they play in developing animal cultures? In this episode of OxPods, I interview Dr Josh Firth, a research fellow at the University of Oxford whose research aims to understand how behaviour and ecology shapes social structure in societies. Went to see this lesser scaup at Farmoor today, a real rarity for the county that was found on the 2nd March! The species is widespread across North America, but occasionally they wander across the Atlantic and pop up in Western Europe.
New OxPods episode out! Found on the website, Spotify, Google and Apple podcasts.
When infectious diseases sweep through human populations, they can often bring detrimental effects to the health and functioning of society. But why do the pathogens that underpin these diseases require human hosts? Why do they cause illness? And importantly, can we predict how they will spread through populations? In this episode of OxPods, I speak to Prof Sunetra Gupta, a theoretical epidemiologist who uses mathematical models to determine the evolution, diversity and spread of pathogens. Some highlights from ringing over the last few months. I've been lucky to join a couple of other ringing groups outside of Wytham, leading to a bit more site diversity. This means I've processed some new species, particularly those found in agricultural land such as yellowhammer and corn bunting!
My first OxPods episode is out and can be found through our website, Spotify, Google and Apple podcasts!
Across the globe, biologists have set up a series of long-term study populations, where all individuals within an animal population are monitored both across their own lifespan and also over many generations. But what's the point of this, and what questions can be answered using long-term studies that can’t be addressed through alternative experiments? In this episode of OxPods, I interview Prof Ben Sheldon FRS, whose research into ecology, evolution and animal behaviour exploits insights from the longest running ecological study of marked wild individual animals in the world, that of the great tit in Wytham Woods. I have started holding and producing episodes as the Biology subject leader for OxPods, a new student society here in Oxford. This is a really fun initiative where we are looking to make the most of the world-leading professors found at Oxford by setting up a platform to interview the academics on the niche, weird and wonderful areas of their subjects. These episodes will be easily digestible for anyone with an interest in the world around them! They can be listened to on Spotify, Apple, Google or directly through the website. My episodes can also be found through the video & audio section of my blog.
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Joe WoodmanA blog of my ideas, photography and research of the natural world. Archives
February 2024
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