The Best Biome

Possibly the best episode of all time (according to me, Rachel). Allan gives us EVERYTHING. Great science, high quality takes, crying with laughter, investigative reporting and red string conspiracy boards. To what end?? Drafting porcupines, well-known "tree-lovers," into the Best Biome (grasslands). Potentially. Hear us out! +++ Primary Sources +++ North American Porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum). Porcupine Fossils: https://markgelbart.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/the-extended-pleistocene-range-of-the-porcupine-erethizon-dorsatum/ Antibiotic Quills: Geographic Differences in Behavior: +++ More of Our Work +++ Filthy Animals (Podcast) Website Facebook TikTok Twitch +++ Contact Us +++ Text/Call: (316)-512-8933 info@grasslandgroupies.org +++ Support Us +++ Bonfire Merch Store CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies Or... donate directly to our org.

Bees know more than you. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but they definitely know more than you realize! From complex problem solving to tool use to wing-sparkle navigation, bees illuminate our understanding of insect cognition. In this episode, Nicole invites us to perceive the world as our buzzy, bumbly friends might, in beautifully smooth 240 fps. Primary Source: What a Bee Knows: Exploring the Thoughts, Memories, and Personalities of BeesSupport us and indie bookstores when you buy the book through this Bookshop.org link Contact: Website Facebook TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

Desertification is a major threat to many grasslands, so let's study the best real-world example: The Horqin Grassland, aka the Horqin Sandy Lands. How has this landscape changed over time, what can it teach us about the future of arid grasslands, and which approaches by Inner Mongolia and China to fight desertification give us hope? We love a hopeful story, and this certainly is one. Primary Sources: Visual timeline of land deterioration and reversals. https://www.scitepress.org/PublishedPapers/2021/110202/110202.pdfLandscapes in the Horqin Sandy Land: Patterns And Processes. Proceedings of The International Conference on Water Resource and Environmenthttps://doi.org/10.5220/0011020200003354Long-term effects of restoration on the links between above-and belowground biodiversity in degraded Horqin Sandy Grassland, northern China.https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1128187Woody plant cover trends and potential drivers in the Horqin Temperate Steppe, Northeast China: Remote Sensing-based computation and modelinghttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109789Population changes behind grassland degradation in Horqin region of Inner Mongolia , Chinahttps://www.academia.edu/109077058/Population_changes_behind_grassland_degradation_in_Horqin_region_of_Inner_Mongolia_China Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

We get patriotic (kinda) in this special episode where all three hosts work together to petition for new national symbols for the US of A. New floral emblem, new national symbol, and a brand new category all-together. Why do we love non-native national symbols? Who knows. Do better, America. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox; CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies

The fastest land animal in North America, second fastest in the world: the graceful, wonderful, pronghorn. Nicole shares all the reasons these icons of the American prairie are truly the best from their evolutionary history to their epic stare battles between each other and rump flashes to warn of predators. Primary Sources: Social Behavior and Ecology of the PronghornEffect of predation on adult pronghorn Antilocapra americana (Antilocapridae) in New Mexico, Southwestern USAOn the Move: Pronghorn Migrations Across Seasons Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox, CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies

Patas Monkeys are weird little guys with fabulous mustaches and very intricate relationships with a special tree on the African savannah. We talk acacias, ants, and the Lorax as Allan tries to make Nicole love just a single primate. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Breakdown of an ant-plant mutualism follows the loss of large herbivores from an African savannaInterspecific and temporal variation of ant species within Acacia drepanolobium ant domatia, a staple food of patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas) in Laikipia, KenyaDr. Seuss and the real Lorax Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

This is a special podcast swap episode where we host Kindred Podcast's Power of Fire episode. Learn about the history of fire, how it shapes the landscape and people that live there. Speakers: Tony Incashola Jr., forest manager for CSKT (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes), and Stephanie Gillin, information and education program manager and former wildlife biologist for the CSKT at the Flathead Indian Reservation. Kindred Podcast hosts: Kate and Jen. Producer: Kat Gatti. Primary Sources: Kindred Podcast website Contact Grassland Groupies: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

The long-legged, sickle claw wielding seriema is a wonderful bird that provides insight into the extinct terror birds of old. Rachel explains the link between past and present and we ponder whether or not scientists ever bother actually looking at birds. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Observation of Claw Use and Feeding Behavior of the Red-Legged Seriema and Its Implication for Claw Use in Deinonychosaurs Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

The conservation story of Canada's polar-vortex-loving Wood Bison is one of colossal mistakes, stacked odds, and (to our gleeful surprise) hope and optimism. These animals have survived drowning, disease, and hybridization, and have gone on to... success? Allan explores this topic in today's episode. Primary Sources: 2018 Wood Bison Recovery Strategy (SARA Series) https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/species-risk-public-registry/recovery-strategies/wood-bison-2018.html#toc11 Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

It's snowy and getting colder where we're at, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go outside. Rachel gives a compelling argument as to why winter is the best time of year for birding and gives insight into the Christmas Bird Count: a citizen science project dating back over a hundred years. Learn more about the Christmas Bird Count here. Primary Sources: Affiliate purchase link Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox CashApp: $GrasslandGroupies

This episode is a little different. We celebrate spooky season with the haunting tales of feldgeist, Sinkhole Sam, and the Ohio Grassman. These stories haunt the minds of those who visit prairies and fields across the globe. Be weary, you never know what's lurking in the tall grass. Photos and more are at our site. Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

Grasshopper mice are small but fierce. They howl like wolves, stalk their prey like cats, and finish up with a quick face clean. These solitary animals like to live life dangerously and enjoy even venomous meals. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Grasshopper Mouse Hunting and HowlingAnimal Diversity WebUSDA Bulletin: Life History and Habits of Grass-hopper mice, genus OnychomysIntergeneric behavioral differences among methamphetamine treated miceOnychomys: Tiny Terror of the Western Deserts Contact: Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

Nicole talks painted dogs: a surprisingly wholesome and fun-loving animal. They are excellent hunters, take care of not just their pups but their elderly, and rarely squabble amongst themselves. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Painted Dog ConservationPainted Dog Research TrustVocal Communication in Free-Ranging African Wild Dogs (Lycaon pictus)Behaviour137African Wild Dog Dispersal and Implications for ManagementThe Journal of Wildlife Management84 Contact Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org Support us: Bonfire Merch Store Or donate: Donorbox

Enjoy this episode of very good facts and very good nonsense. We revisit a nice game of stump the podcast host, this time with more bug viscera and talking ourselves out of an obvious answer. Our Info: Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

In the Páramo grasslands of South America is a cloud covered land where a unique ecosystem thrives. Allan tells us all about a plant that drinks clouds plus the miraculous little hummingbirds that call this place home. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Páramos: A Checklist of Plant Diversity, Geographical Distribution, and Botanical LiteratureClay mineralogy of the soils in the south Ecuadorian paramo regionIn the land of El Dorado, clean water has become ‘blue gold’ Contact Website Facebook Twitter TikTok info@grasslandgroupies.org

Did you know meerkats are far more murderous than they seem or that their burrows can be as wide as a Purple Worm's? All this and more as we delve underground and find out why they can be so aggressive and who would win in a fight: 1000 meerkats or Nicole. Primary Sources: The phylogenetic roots of human lethal violenceIntergroup aggression in meerkatsInfanticide by subordinates influences reproductive sharing in cooperatively breeding meerkats Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org Merch Store!

Conservation can be DEPRESSING, so for Mental Health Month we decided to share ONLY positive news and stories (after taking a little break for our brains). Rewire those neurons everybody, because it's not all bleak. Good news so far in May: Biden-Harris Administration announced $36 millionDakota Prairie Grasslands US Department of Agriculture and the Interior announcedProposed CRP Reform Act of 20232023 JE Weaver Small Grands AwardsArizona is restoring migration routes South Dakota spending $1 mil restoring grasslandsNo-Mow-Summer in Dengibghshire County, WalesEarless Dragon burrows Saving Phu MyUN International Year of Rangelands and PastoralistsWWF Policy Actions to Save GrasslandsThere's still time to save the CerradoCargill got sued over Cerrado deforestation again. Good news deep dives: Success in the Savanna: Blue-throated Macaw Update2022 State of the Birds ReportNorth American Grasslands Conservation ActGreat Plains Ecotourism CoalitionUtah Wildlife Board approves changes to Utah prairie dog rule Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

Wherein Rachel makes a definitive list of best bird nests in North American grasslands. Primary Sources: A Field Guide to Birds NestsThe Birder's HandbookMadison Audubon's Into the Nest Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

Ostriches are one of the strangest birds we've ever talked about. They are the world's biggest bird and toughest survivor. They nest together, have radiators for necks, and can drink saltwater. Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-20937-7https://doi.org/10.2307/1365733 Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org

Soils define habitats as much as the plantlife, so let's talk about that! How do you identify a soil species, and should grassland ecosystem restorations include soil microbe transplants? Photos and more are at our site. Primary Sources: Affiliate Bookshop LinkLink Contact Website Facebook Twitter info@grasslandgroupies.org