BioScience Talks

AI and Ecosystem Modeling, with Scott Spillias and Beth Fulton

12 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode, we were joined by Scott Spillias, who is a Research Scientist at CSIRO and affiliated with the Centre for Marine Socioecology at the...

A Cautionary Tale of Ecoservice Valuation, with John Van Stan

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode, we're joined once again by John Van Stan, a Professor at Cleveland State University, in the Department of Biological, Geological, an...

BIOFAIR to Solve Key Challenges

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode, we were joined by members of the Biodiversity Collections Network, who discussed the NSF-funded BIOFAIR project, the subject of a re...

Socioeconomics, Biodiversity, and Birdsong Beats, with Diego Ellis Soto

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Diego Ellis Soto, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, and a res...

iNaturalist and Biodiversity Research, with Brittany Mason and Corey Callaghan

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by two guests, Brittany Mason, a Data Management Analyst at the University of Florida, and Corey Ca...

Science Storytelling, with Kristy Ferraro and Adam Meyer

16 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we were joined by Dr. Kristy Ferraro, who is a Banting Postdoctoral Fellow at Memorial University in Newfoundlan...

Systemic Sexism in Academia, with Olivia del Giorgio, María Piquer-Rodríguez, and Silvia Lomáscolo

01 Jul 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Olivia del Giorgio, at McGill University Department of Geography, in Montreal, Quebec, María Pi...

Urban Rewilding, with Patt Finnerty

17 Jun 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Dr. Patt Finnerty, a postdoctoral research fellow in the Global Ecology Lab at the University of...

Drones in Fieldwork, with Thilina Surasinghe, Kunwar Singh, and Amy Frazier

20 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode, we are joined by Thilina Surasinghe, Professor at Bridgewater State University in the Department of Biological Sciences, Kunwar S...

Moving Beyond Crisis and Ecological Grief, with Marco Malavasi

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Marco Malavasi, plant ecologist and cartographer at the University of Sassari, in Italy. We disc...

Gentoo Penguins in the Falklands, with John Bates, Sushma Reddy, and Rachael Herman

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by John Bates, Curator of Birds at the Field Museum, Sushma Reddy, Breckenridge Chair of Ornitholog...

Coalition-Building for Labor Actions in Life Sciences Departments, with Aspen Ellis

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Aspen Ellis, PhD candidate at University of California, Santa Cruz, for a discussion of the larg...

The Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever Lifetime Study, with Kelly Diehl

25 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Dr. Kelly Diehl, who has been a veterinarian for almost 40 years and currently works at Morris A...

Live from the SACNAS National Diversity in STEM Conference

14 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're reporting from the 2024 National Diversity in STEM, or NDiSTEM, conference hosted in Phoenix, Arizona, by ...

"Pocosin" and Respect for Indigenous Knowledge Systems, with Ryan Emanuel

07 Nov 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Ryan Emanuel, Associate Professor in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. ...

Communicating Truth, with Michael Patrick Lynch

24 Oct 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Michael Patrick Lynch, who is the author of the new book On Truth and Politics: Why Democracy De...

CAM Plants, with Kailiang Yu, Paolo D'Odorico, and Scott Collins

27 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Kailiang Yu, from Princeton University, Paolo D'Odorico, from the University of California, Berk...

Flood Ecology, with Paul Humphries

13 Sep 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Paul Humphries, Associate Professor in Ecology at Charles Sturt University, in the School of Agr...

Long-Term Coral Reef Monitoring, with Peter Edmunds

28 Aug 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Peter Edmunds, Professor of Biology at California State University, Northridge, where he has wor...

A Lunar Biorepository to Preserve Biodiversity, with Mary Hagedorn

31 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Mary Hagedorn of the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute for a discuss...

Soundscape Ecology, with Bryan Pijanowski

01 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today's episode features Dr. Bryan Pijanowski, Professor of Soundscape Ecology in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue Universit...

Live from the Association of Southeastern Biologists Annual Meeting

10 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Today's episode is a mostly onsite podcast from Chattanooga, Tennessee, where BioScience Talks was graciously hosted earlier this spring by the Associ...

One Health (and more) with DeeAnn Reeder

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by DeeAnn Reeder, Professor of Biology at Bucknell University and a researcher at the Smithsonian I...

Spy Satellites for Ecology, with Catalina Munteanu and Volker Radeloff

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode, we're joined by Catalina Munteanu, Researcher at the University of Frieberg in Germany, who has a background in geography and for...

Pollinator Roadside Habitat, with Thomas Meinzen, Diane Debinski, and Laura Burkle

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode, we're joined by Thomas Meinzen, recent Master's of Science graduate from Montana State University in Bozeman, Diane Debinski, who...

Shipwreck Ecology, with Avery Paxton, Chris Taylor, and Melanie Damour

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode, we're joined by Avery Paxton, who is a Research Marine Biologist with NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Chris Ta...

The Global Women in Herpetology Project (and Book), with Sinlan Poo

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode, we jump back to last spring's Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Our guest is Sinlan Poo, Curator of Research at...

The Re-Envisioning Culture Network, with Simone Soso

15 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Dr. Simone Soso, Assistant Director of Research and Workforce Development at the MSI STEM Res...

Rewilding Governance, with Jeremy Bruskotter and John Vucetich

01 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we're joined by Jeremy Bruskotter, faculty member and Professor in the School of Environment and Natural Resources at The Ohio State ...

READI-Net, with Adam Sepulveda

27 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Our guest for this episode of BioScience Talks is Adam Sepulveda, Research Scientist with the US Geological Survey's Northern Rocky Mountain Science C...

Organization of Biological Field Stations

19 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s episode features three representatives of the Organization of Biological Field Stations (OBFS), which is an American Institute of Biological...

On Site at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists

28 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This episode of BioScience Talks was recorded on location at the Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists in Norfolk, Virginia, and features...

Wolf Recovery and Its Challenges, with David Mech and David Ausband

06 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode, we were joined by L. David Mech, from the US Geological Survey’s Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center and the University o...

A Dispatch from the AIBS Congressional Visits Day

11 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's episode of BioScience Talks is a second dispatch from AIBS's spring Congressional Visits Day, which is a program that gives researchers a chan...

The Past, Present, and Future of Water, with Peter Gleick

31 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode, I was joined by Dr. Peter Gleick, Cofounder and Senior Fellow at the Pacific Institute in Oakland, California, author of the new ...

50 Years of SACNAS, with Executive Director Juan Amador

25 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode, I was joined by Juan Amador, who is the Executive Director for the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Ame...

Under the Weather with John Van Stan: Scientists Should Spend More Time in the Rain

14 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode, we're joined by Dr. John Van Stan, Associate Professor at Cleveland State University in the Department of Biological, Geological ...

Talking Science, Policy, and Congressional Visits with the Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award Winners

08 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's episode comes "live" from AIBS's 2023 Congressional Visits Day in Washington, DC, where our guests gathered for a communications boot camp and...

Food Security in High Mountains of Central Asia, with Roy Sidle

12 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Professor Roy Sidle, Director of the Mountain Societies Research Institute and Professor in Earth...

Nature's Chefs, with Robert Dunn and Pia Sörensen

01 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A recent article in BioScience discusses "Nature's Chefs"—animal, plant, and fungal species create or mimic food for others for a variety of reasons...

Evolution in the City: Urban Wildlife Coloration with Samantha Kreling

19 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode, we're joined by Samantha Kreling, PhD candidate at the University of Washington, in the Prugh Lab. She's here to discuss her new Bio...

Richard Hill Discusses "Living Naked in the Cold"

12 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Today's interview is with Dr. Richard Hill, Professor Emeritus at Michigan State University and author of the BioScience article "Living Naked in the ...

Urban Green Spaces with Brenda Lin and Erik Andersson

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode, we're joined by Dr. Brenda Lin from CSIRO Land and Water in Australia, and Dr. Erik Andersson, Professor of Sustainability Scienc...

Roberto Efraín Díaz

23 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This podcast is part of AIBS's Diversity Heroes series, where we spotlight individuals who are working to increase Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in ...

Neoclassical Economics from a Biologist's Perspective: Charles A. S. Hall

17 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For today's episode, we're joined by Dr. Charles A. S. Hall, who discusses his recent book review of Peter Victor's "Herman Daly's Economics for a Ful...

In Their Own Words: Osvaldo Sala

09 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In Their Own Words chronicles the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields. These short histories provide our readers a...

Leopold's Preserve: Protecting Nature in a Fast-Growing Region

01 Dec 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we're joined by Scott Plein, Principal of Equinox Investments and Founder and Chairman of the White House Farm Foundation, and Alan R...

Textiles that Pollute: Microfibers in the Environment

22 Nov 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode, we're joined by Dr. Judith Weis of Rutgers University to discuss her new book, Polluting Textiles: The Problem with Microfibres. Lis...

The Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships Directorate at NSF

26 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

For this episode, we're joined by Thyaga Nandagopal, Division Director for the Division of Innovation and Technology Ecosystems, in the newly launched...

Communicating Disease Spillover Risk during the COVID-19 Pandemic

17 Oct 2022

Contributed by Lukas

COVID-19 has been the first pandemic that has taken place alongside the interconnectivity of the Internet. Consequently, the spread of ideas and infor...

The Plan to "Rewild" the American West

30 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As the effects of climate change mount, ecosystem restoration in the US West has garnered significant public attention, bolstered by President Joe Bid...

40 years of Ecological Research, the Effects of Climate Change

19 Sep 2022

Contributed by Lukas

As global warming accelerates, it is increasingly clear that climate change is affecting our planet on every scale, from global shifts in weather patt...

Mass Extinction, Mayan Temples, and the Origins of Modern Reef Fish

27 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we're joined by Alexandre C. Siqueira, a postdoctoral fellow at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia, where he works in the...

In Their Own Words: Daniel Simberloff

13 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In Their Own Words chronicles the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields. These short histories provide our readers a...

Public Health and Analogies in the COVID-19 Era

06 Jul 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials and others have used concepts such as "waves" to convey information about the spread of dise...

Transformative Change to Protect Biodiversity, Climate

29 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

We're joined by Dr. Pam McElwee, Professor of Human Ecology at Rutgers University, and Dr. Sarah Diamond, Associate Professor of Biology at Case Weste...

Social Justice and Conservation Education

17 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Robert Montgomery, Associate Professor of Biodiversity and Sustainability, Senior Research Fellow in Lady Margare...

Learning What Our Ancestors Ate with Stable Isotope Analysis of Amino Acids

09 Jun 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Thomas Larsen and Patrick Roberts of the Max Planck Institute of the Science of Human History join us to discuss how we can learn about early hominins...

Dams and Their Evolutionary Consequences

11 May 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we're joined by Liam Zarri, PhD student at Cornell University, and Dr. Eric Palkovacs, Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology ...

Drought Response and the Decline of Eastern Oaks

19 Apr 2022

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we're joined by Kim Novick, Associate Professor in the O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University, Rich...

Public Engagement Benefits Scientists

23 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

The positive effects of scientist engagement with the general public are well documented, but most investigations have focused on the benefits to the ...

Minority-Serving Institutions and Grant Review Representation

10 Feb 2022

Contributed by Lukas

While numerous studies have described the funding discrepancies faced by scientists at minority-serving institutions (MSIs), there is a relative pauci...

Resist–Accept–Direct, a Paradigm for Management

06 Jan 2022

Contributed by Lukas

Natural resource managers worldwide face a growing challenge: Global change increasingly propels ecosystems on strong trajectories toward irreversible...

In Their Own Words: Thomas Lovejoy III (Republication)

30 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The American institute of Biological Sciences, publisher of the BioScience Talks podcast, mourns the loss of visionary ecologist Thomas E. Lovejoy III...

Coral Reefs: Insults and Prospects

16 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Dr. Michael Lesser, Professor Emeritus at the University of New Hampshire. He's here to talk abou...

Biodiversity Collections Enable Foundational and Data Skills

08 Dec 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The task of training an effective cadre of biodiversity scientists has grown more challenging in recent years, as foundational skills and knowledge in...

Disease Transmission: The Case of Sarcoptes Scabiei

17 Nov 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by Liz Browne, who has bachelor of science degree with honors from the University of Tasmania, and S...

Values and Water Security in a Dry Era

27 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode of BioScience Talks, we're joined by previous guest Paolo D'Odorico, professor of hydrology and the Chair of the Department of Environ...

Empowering Communities through Local Monitoring

13 Oct 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over recent decades, community-based environmental monitoring (often called "citizen science") has exploded in popularity, aided both by smartphones a...

In Their Own Words: Nalini Nadkarni

31 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

The Climate Emergency in a COVID Year

25 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a year marked by unprecedented flooding, deadly avalanches, and scorching heat waves and wildfires, the climate emergency's enormous cost—whether...

Blackologists and the Promise of Inclusive Sustainability

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Historically, shared resources such as forests, fishery stocks, and pasture lands have often been managed with an aim toward averting "tragedies of th...

The COVID-19 Pandemic, Viral Evolution, Vaccines, and Variants

24 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Charlie Fenster, Professor at South Dakota State University, Director of Oak Lake Field Station, and President of...

Environmental DNA and RNA May Be Key in Monitoring Pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2

27 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A discussion of environmental DNA and RNA (eDNA and eRNA, respectively) and its potential for pathogen monitoring. eDNA and eRNA approaches work throu...

In Their Own Words: John E. Burris

14 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

Urban Ecology, Segregation, and the Work of the Baltimore Field Station

08 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Dr. Morgan Grove of the USDA Baltimore Field Station joins us to discuss urban ecology, segregation, environmental justice, DEI, and the efforts of th...

Using Citations to Find Scientific Communities

17 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

George Chacko (University of Illinois) and Steve Gallo (American Institute of Biological Sciences) discuss using article citations to generate "cluste...

In Their Own Words: Thomas Lovejoy

15 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

Indigenous Systems of Management for Healthier Fisheries

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Before European colonization, populations of Pacific salmon were successfully managed by the Indigenous communities of the Pacific Northwest since tim...

SlothBot: Engaging the Public with Robot Ecology

27 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Despite having a professed trust in the science, many members of the public fall short when it comes to making choices that protect the environment an...

In Their Own Words: Peter Raven

08 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

In Their Own Words: Alan Covich

21 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

Virtual Meetings in the Pandemic Era: American Society for Gravitational and Space Research

16 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The COVID-19 pandemic has produced numerous challenges for scientific societies and organizations, including the necessity to quickly move large in-pe...

Science Leaders Issue Clarion Call for Evidence-Based Policy

08 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, US science leaders and others have expressed frustration with the lack of an informed and coherent fede...

Trump Administration Delists Gray Wolves: Response from the Experts

11 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

On 29 October 2020, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced the "successful recovery" of the US gray wolf population, with US Secretary of the Inte...

In Their Own Words: Paul Ehrlich

28 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

In Their Own Words: Marvalee Wake

16 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

Often Understudied, Fences Pose Ecological Threats

14 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Fences are one of humanity's most frequent landscape alterations, with their combined length exceeding even that of roads by an order of magnitude. De...

In Their Own Words: Neil deGrasse Tyson

18 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

Measuring Metabolism: How Much Food Does a Bear Need?

09 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The keys to conserving large mammals, such as bears, often lie in better understanding their ecophysiology. Armed with knowledge about the animals' en...

In Their Own Words: Gene E. Likens

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

21st Century Natural History Collections

12 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Natural history collections are a crucial resource to many scientific endeavors, and their value has been bolstered by recently undertaken digitizati...

Hot Days and Tree Transpiration

28 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Shade from urban trees has long been understood to offer respite from the urban heat island effect, a phenomenon that can result in city centers that...

In Their Own Words: Douglas Futuyma

08 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

Leveraging Biodiversity Science Infrastructure in the COVID-19 Era

23 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The pandemic resulting from SARS-CoV-2 has had profound impacts on the conduct of scientific research and education: A large proportion of field resea...

Using Metacommunities for Better Biological Assessments

09 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Evaluating shifts in the health of dynamic ecosystems is often difficult—for instance, rivers with intermittent flows and populations with varied di...

In Their Own Words: Judith Weis

29 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

In Their Own Words: Gregory Anderson

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contribu...

Lessons from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study

13 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Addressing COVID-19 Supply Shortages with 3D Printing

08 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, efforts to provide adequate testing and healthcare have at times been stymied by shortages of medical supplies. To hel...