From the archive: Electric ecology - Many Minds
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- From the archive: Electric ecology
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- <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Hi friends! We're still taking a bit of a summer pause. We'll be back at the end of August—in the meanwhile, enjoy this listener favorite from our archives!</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">-----</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">[<em>originally aired September 19, 2024</em>]</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">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.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">My guest today is <a href= "https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=AmVsVs4AAAAJ&view_op=list_works&inst=13098912254855678857"><span class="s2">Dr. Sam England</span></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.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">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.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">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!</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">A transcript of this episode is available <a href= "https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mCtcazT1DHwTIS9dCdpy589f7W6nTYsk/view?usp=sharing"><span class="s2">here</span></a>.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"> </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s3"><em>Notes and links</em></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">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"><span class="s2">recent review</span></a> of electroreception and electric ecology by Dr. England and a colleague.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">7:30 – A <a href= "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969711012733?casa_token=M5cLmd84HtEAAAAA:vHyT7yB0lNog9VgOnq1M_PuLGoqlFYh0RPdhEQrilwFpowc6npMTR84wJ00TcTxqGReDEUlaaXo"><span class="s2">paper reviewing</span></a> the (contested) phenomenon of electromagnetic hypersensitivity in humans.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">9:30 – An <a href= "https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-540-29678-2_2919"><span class="s2">encyclopedia article</span></a> on electroreception in monotremes.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">13:00 – An <a href= "https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/202/10/1205/8158/Active-electrolocation-of-objects-in-weakly"><span class="s2">early study</span></a> of electrolocation in "weakly electric" fish.</span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">17:00 – A popular <a href= "https://www.americanscientist.org/article/the-discovery-of-the-sharks-electric-sense"><span class="s2">article<
- Publication Date
- 2026-08-17T17:22:00+00:00
- Status
- completed
- Website
- https://manyminds.libsyn.com/from-the-archive-electric-ecology
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- 93:09
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- /podcasts/Many Minds/1786987320-5370.mp3
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- 127.92 MB
- Bitrate
- 187-CBR
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- 1
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