Electric ecology - Many Minds
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- Title
- Electric ecology
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- <p class="MsoNormal">There's a bit of a buzz out there, right now, but maybe you haven’t noticed. It's in the water, it's in the air. It's electricity—and it's all around us, all the time, including in some places you might not have expected to find it. We humans, after all, are not super tuned in to this layer of reality. But many other creatures are—and scientists are starting to take note.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">My guest today is <a href= "https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=AmVsVs4AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&inst=13098912254855678857"> Dr. Sam England</a>. Sam is a sensory ecologist at the Natural History Museum in Berlin, and one of a handful of scientists uncovering some shocking things about the role of electricity in the natural world.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Here, Sam and I have a wide-ranging conversation about <em>electroreception</em>—which is the perception of electrical stimuli—and <em>electric ecology</em>—which is the study of the ecological roles of electricity. We talk about how an interest in electroreception first got started, and why it's recently resurged. We discuss aquatic electroreception versus aerial electroreception, active electroreception versus passive electroreception. We talk about how electroreception is actually kind of easy to evolve. Along the way, we consider electrolocation and, its analog in sound, echolocation. We touch on dolphins, sharks, echidnas, ticks, caterpillars, bees, and spiders. We zoom in on electrostatic pollination, and what is inarguably the coolest sounding anatomical structure known to biology: the ampullae of Lorenzini.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I think you'll enjoy this one, friends. As Sam describes here, electroreception is one of those "alien senses"—it really challenges the imagination. And electric ecology is one of those frontiers in our understanding of the natural world. So without further ado, here's my chat with Dr. Sam England. Enjoy!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">A transcript of this episode will be available soon.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><em><u>Notes and links</u></em></p> <p class="MsoNormal">3:00 – For many of the topics discussed in this episode, see this comprehensive <a href= "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12804">recent review</a> of electroreception and electric ecology by Dr. England and a colleague.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">7:30 – A <a href= "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969711012733?casa_token=M5cLmd84HtEAAAAA:vHyT7yB0lNog9VgOnq1M_PuLGoqlFYh0RPdhEQrilwFpowc6npMTR84wJ00TcTxqGReDEUlaaXo"> paper reviewing</a> the (contested) phenomenon of electromagnetic hypersensitivity in humans.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">9:30 – An <a href= "https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_2919"> encyclopedia article</a> on electroreception in monotremes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">13:00 – An <a href= "https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/202/10/1205/8158/Active-electrolocation-of-objects-in-weakly"> early study</a> of electrolocation in “weakly electric” fish.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">17:00 – A popular <a href= "https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-discovery-of-the-sharks-electric-sense"> article</a> about the discovery of electroreception in sharks.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">20:30 – A <a href= "https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235690300_Detection_and_Learning_of_Floral_Electric_Fields_by_Bumblebees"> 2013 study</a> showing that bumblebees detect the electric fields around flowers.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">23:30 – A recent <a href= "https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jfb.13922">review</a> of electroreception and its evolution in fish. <span style= "mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal">25:00 – A <a href= "https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2011.1127">study</a> demonstrating electroreception in the Guiana dolphin.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">34:00 – A recent <a href= "https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-982
- Publication Date
- 2024-09-19T05:17:00+00:00
- Status
- completed
- Website
- https://manyminds.libsyn.com/electric-ecology
- Length
- 93:09
- File
- /podcasts/Many Minds/1726723020-4890.mp3
- Size
- 127.92 MB
- Bitrate
- 187-CBR
- Channels
- 1
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