The Animal Behavior Podcast

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Matthew speaks with Dai Shizuka (@ShizukaLab), an associate professor in the school of biological sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
They start out by talking about social networks in humans and non-human animals. They discuss applying these techniques to non-model organisms, like the golden-crowned sparrows that Dai has studied. Then they talk about the relationship between space use and sociality, and the feedback between the two. After the break, they talk about how Dai was drawn to animal behavior while growing up in urban environments, and his work to promote justice for those in his academic and non-academic communities.
For more content from this interview with Dai, check out the Supplemental Material bonus episode in your feed.
This week's Two-Minute Takeaway comes from Brett Hodinka (@BrettHodinka), a graduate student at Simon Fraser University. Read more about Brett's work here.
Media relevant to today's show:
1. Dai's paper establishing the existence of stable social networks in golden-crowned sparrows
Shizuka, D., Chaine, A. S., Anderson, J., Johnson, O., Laursen, I. M., & Lyon, B. E. (2014). Across‐year social stability shapes network structure in wintering migrant sparrows. Ecology Letters, 17(8), 998-1007.
2. Dai's work demonstrating that manipulation of badges of status does not fool sparrows that know each other
Chaine, A. S., Shizuka, D., Block, T. A., Zhang, L., & Lyon, B. E. (2018). Manipulating badges of status only fools strangers. Ecology letters, 21(10), 1477-1485.
3. Check out the Asian Community and Cultural Center in Lincoln, NE

Credits:
The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by Matthew Zipple (@MatthewZipple) and Amy Strauss (@avstrauss).
You can contact us at [email protected] and find us on Twitter (@AnimalBehavPod).
Our theme song is by Sally Street (@Rainbow_Road13), assistant professor in evolutionary anthropology at Durham University in the UK. You can find her on Sound Cloud here: https://soundcloud.com/rainbow_road_music.
Musical transitions by André Gonçalves (@fieryangelsfell), a researcher at the primate research institute at Kyoto University.
Our logo was designed by Adeline Durand-Monteil (@adelinedurandm), a master’s student in ecology and evolution. You can see more of Adeline's work on her website: https://adelinedurandmonteil.wordpress.com/.
The Animal Behavior Podcast is produced with support from the Animal Behavior Society (@AnimBehSociety)

In this episode, Amy speaks with guest Andy Sih, a Distinguished ​​Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy within the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis.

They open by discussing the concept of animal personalities (a.k.a 'behavioral syndromes' or 'consistent individual differences in behavior'). Then, they chat about fear generalization in animals, and they discuss how and why human-induced rapid environmental change threatens some species more than others. After the break, they discuss international collaboration, integrative approaches to behavioral questions, and the value of 'big picture' thinking.

This week's Two-Minute Takeaway comes from Jason Dinh (@jasonpdinh), a PhD Candidate at Duke University. He uses physiology and physics to understand how sexually selected signals are used and perceived, exploring proximate mechanisms through an evolutionary lens. Learn more about Jason's work here.

Papers relevant to today's show:

1. Behavioral syndromes: an ecological and evolutionary overview 2004 Trends in Ecology & Evolution
2. On the importance of individual differences in behavioural skill 2019 Animal Behaviour
3. Integrating social networks, animal personalities, movement ecology and parasites: a framework with examples from a lizard 2018 Animal Behaviour

Credits:

The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by a team of animal behavior researchers and audio professionals. Come meet us here! We receive production support from the Cornell Broadcast studio directed by Bert Odom-Reed, and financial support from the Animal Behavior Society.

In this episode, Matthew speaks with Sara Lewis about her book, "Silent Sparks" and her career studying fireflies. They discuss the sexually selected behaviors that are so central to fireflies' lives. After the break, they talk about Sara's conservation work focused on documenting firefly population dynamics and threat levels that different species face.
This week's Two-Minute Takeaway comes from Cheyenne McKinley, a PhD student studying bioluminescent ostracods in Todd Oakley's lab at UCSB.
Resources relevant to this week's show:
Silent Sparks, Sara's book about her career and research studying fireflies.
Fallon, C. E., Walker, A. C., Lewis, S., Cicero, J., Faust, L., Heckscher, C. M., ... & Jepsen, S. (2021). Evaluating firefly extinction risk: Initial red list assessments for North America. PloS one, 16(11), e0259379.
State of the Fireflies of the United States and Canada: Distributions, Threats, and Conservation Recommendations. Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Credits: The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by a team of animal behavior researchers and audio professionals. Come meet us here! We receive production support from the Cornell Broadcast studio directed by Bert Odom-Reed, and financial support from the Animal Behavior Society.

Episode Summary:
In this episode, Amy speaks with Eileen Hebets (@hebets_lab), a Professor in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and the current President of the Animal Behavior Society.
They start out discussing sensory systems and the evolution of multimodal communication in arachnids. Then, we learn about sexual cannibalism and the evolution of this terminal investment strategy by males in many spider species. They also talk about Eileen's research into cognition and learning in arachnids.
After the break, Amy and Eileen talk about the importance of basic research for innovation and discovery, as well as Eileen's experience learning to quantify and evaluate her science communication efforts.
This week's Two-Minute Takeaway comes from Emily Ray (@emilyjray21), a doctoral student at Louisiana State University studying filial cannibalism control in a maternal mouthbrooding cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni. Currently, she is investigating the sensory signals that drive parent-offspring recognition and aims to identify its neural correlates.

Select links relevant to today's show:
1. Barron, AB*, E.A. Hebets*, T.A. Cleland, C.L. Fitzpatrick, M.E. Hauber, & J.Stevens. 2015. FORUM: Embracing multiple definitions of learning. Trends in Neuroscience 38:405-407. (*shared first author)

2. Hebets, E. A. 2003. Subadult experience influences adult mate choice in an arthropod: Exposed female wolf spiders prefer males of a familiar phenotype. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 100: 13390-13395.

3. Learn about one of Eileen's ongoing outreach projects: Eight Legged Encounters

Credits:

The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by Matthew Zipple (@MatthewZipple) and Amy Strauss (@avstrauss). If you like what you heard, please subscribe wherever you’re listening now, leave us a rating or review, and share us with your friends and colleagues.
You can contact us at [email protected] and find us on Twitter (@AnimalBehavPod).
Our theme song is by Sally Street (@Rainbow_Road13), Assistant Professor in Evolutionary Anthropology at Durham University in the UK. You can find her on Sound Cloud here: https://soundcloud.com/rainbow_road_music.
Musical transitions by André Gonçalves (@fieryangelsfell), a Researcher at the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University.
Our logo was designed by Adeline Durand-Monteil (@adelinedurandm), a Master’s Student in Ecology and Evolution. You can see more of Adeline's work on her website: https://adelinedurandmonteil.wordpress.com/.
The Animal Behavior Podcast is produced with support from the Animal Behavior Society (@AnimBehSociety).

Episode Summary:

In this episode, Amy speaks with Esteban Fernandez-Juricic (@EstebanFerJur), a Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University and the current President of the Animal Behavior Society.
They start out discussing how sensory physiology can help answer questions about animal behavior, and why there is so much variation in visual systems across taxa. Then they talk about how Esteban's basic research into vision and behavior has enabled fruitful collaborations with conservation practitioners working on wildlife management applications.
After the break, they talk about research reproducibility in animal behavior, as well as Esteban's leadership as Animal Behavior Society President.
This week's Two-Minute Takeaway comes from Magdalena Wlodarz, a graduate student in Ecology, Evolution, and Nature Conservation. Magdalena is part of the Animal Ecology Working Group at the University of Potsdam in Germany.
Select papers relevant to today's show:
1. Esteban and collaborators characterize multiple traits of the visual system of the Red-winged Blackbird:
Fernandez-Juricic, E. Baumhardt, P.E., Tyrrell, L.P., Elmore, A., DeLiberto, S.T., and Werner, S.J. 2019. Vision in an abundant North American bird: The Red-winged Blackbird. Ornithology (The Auk) 136: ukz039.
2. Esteban and collaborators assess bird responses to different light stimuli using perceptual modeling and behavioral preference tests:
Goller, B., Blackwell, B.F., DeVault, T.L., Baumhardt, P.E., and Fernandez-Juricic, E. 2018. Assessing bird avoidance of high-contrast lights using a choice test approach: implications for reducing human-induced avian mortality. PeerJ 6: e5404.
3. Editorial by Esteban addressing why sharing data and code during peer review would help with research reproducibility:
Fernandez-Juricic, E. 2021. Why sharing data and code during peer review can enhance behavioral ecology research. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 75: 103.

Credits:
The Animal Behavior Podcast is created by Matthew Zipple (@MatthewZipple) and Amy Strauss (@avstrauss). If you like what you heard, please subscribe wherever you’re listening now, leave us a rating or review, and share us with your friends and colleagues.
You can contact us at [email protected] and find us on Twitter (@AnimalBehavPod).
Our theme song is by Sally Street (@Rainbow_Road13), Assistant Professor in Evolutionary Anthropology at Durham University in the UK. You can find her on Sound Cloud here: https://soundcloud.com/rainbow_road_music.
Musical transitions by André Gonçalves (@fieryangelsfell), a Researcher at the Primate Research Institute at Kyoto University.
Our logo was designed by Adeline Durand-Monteil (@adelinedurandm), a Master’s Student in Ecology and Evolution. You can see more of Adeline's work on her website: https://adelinedurandmonteil.wordpress.com/.
The Animal Behavior Podcast is produced with support from the Animal Behavior Society (@AnimBehSociety).