Oct 17: Iain Couzin's Scientific Spark, why do deer in Japan bow, and why are some plant nectars bitter‪?‬ The Behavioural Ecology and Evolution Podcast (the Beepcast)

This month I meet some very polite deer who have a special way of asking for food. I discover why some plant nectars contain poisonous toxins. And in the scientific spark, I talk to Iain Couzin from the Max Planck Department of Collective Behaviour. Iain tells me what sparked his interest in becoming a scientist, and how, if his teachers had had their way, he might have been doing something entirely different. 




Download the MP3









Feeding a sika deer in Nara Park, Japan







Today I met the sika deer of #Nara #Japan who have learned to bow for treats. Seems to be a #sociallytransmitted #behaviour pic.twitter.com/jTedabe2hW

— Dr. Hannah Rowland (@HannahMRowland) October 1, 2017


Quicklinks:






Variation and social influence of bowing behavior by sika deer (Cervus nippon) in the journal Ethology

Patty Jone' lab webpage at Bowdoin

Patty's paper on the consequences of toxic secondary compounds in nectar for mutualist bees and antagonist butterflies.

Iain Couzin's Collective Behaviour Department