Listen to Episode 118 on PodBean, YouTube, iTunes, or maybe somewhere else!
As organisms live, grow, and move in their environments, they leave all sorts of evidence behind on their surroundings. When this evidence becomes preserved in the geologic record, it can be provide some of our best clues to understanding lifestyles and evolution of ancient life. This episode, we talk about Trace Fossils.
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Several thousand living species – and many more fossils – are called “crabs,” but they don’t all share an evolutionary history. The crab-like body plan is a repeated trend in crustacean evolution, and there are differing opinions on what exactly counts as a “crab” and why natural selection keeps making them. This episode, we talk Crabs and Carcinization.
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Of all the reptiles to evolve marine lifestyles, only one were so strikingly specialized to earn the name “fish reptiles.” This episode, we discuss the long evolutionary history, extraordinary adaptations, diverse lifestyles, and perplexing extinction of Ichthyosaurs.
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The Earth is covered in ecosystems, but what lives where is dependent on the local climate and landscape. This variation creates vast patterns in the distribution of life, patterns that scientists can use to understand ecology, and patterns that have changed over time as the Earth’s surface has transformed. This episode, we discuss the modern state and ancient history of Biomes.
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Far to the north and far to the south, conditions on Earth get weird. Cold climates and periods of perpetual night or day create some of the most unique habitats on the planet, and yet life has thrived there throughout Earth history and continues to do so today. This episode, we discuss the diversity, history, and adaptations of Polar Life.
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Life on Earth is directly impacted by the climate, and the climate changes over time in response to the activities of tectonic plates, ocean currents, biological communities, and of course, even humans. The geologic record of our planet is an archive of data on the causes and effects of changing climates. This episode, we discuss Paleoclimate.
Continue readingListen to Episode 112 on PodBean, YouTube, iTunes, or wherever you can dig it up!
Subterranean passages and chambers within the crust of the Earth form unique environments, often carved out over thousands of years, which create homes for rare and bizarre groups of organisms and provide valuable fossil resources. This episode, we discuss the geology, biology, and paleontology of Caves.
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There isn’t much on Earth like an ant colony or a beehive. It’s a bizarre lifestyle, creating multi-generational groups where most members don’t reproduce but protect the offspring of others. This episode, we discuss the questions surrounding the details and evolution of Eusociality.
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Go digging in the right place in Illinois and you’re liable to find some of the best Carboniferous fossils in the world. This episode, we discuss the history, the geology, and the incredible – and sometimes bizarre – plants and animals of the Mazon Creek Fossil Beds.
Continue readingListen to Episode 109 on PodBean, YouTube, iTunes, or anywhere you can find it!
These carnivores might have a reputation as uncouth scavengers, but their modern and fossil history is full of a diverse array of specialized hunters. In this episode, we discuss the surprising modern diversity and the rich fossil record of Hyenas.
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