Natural Selections

NCPR: North Country Public Radio
  • 4.9 (11)
  • SCIENCE

Conversations about the natural world with Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley, from member-supported North Country Public Radio.

  1. 10/21/2021

    Natural Selections: "Couch potato" bass evolving in response to human predation

    (Oct 21, 2021) The pressure to keep billions of humans fed can have a transformative impact on amimal populations. Overharvesting that targets the largest animals can result in reduction of the average size of species, as seen in Caribbean conch snails. And sport-fishing pressure on large mouth bass can winnow out the most agressive in the gene pool, resulting in a "lazier," more passive remnant population. Martha Foley and Curt Stager talk about the human factor in animal evolution.

    5 min

  2. 10/14/2021

    Natural Selections: Get to know your closet nemesis, the clothes moth

    (Oct 14, 2021) Keratin, the substance wool, hair, and feathers are made from, makes a pretty thin diet, but the clothes moth has been dogging humanity's closets and drawers for hundreds of years, unravelling the work of generations of knitters and weavers to feed its larvae.

    6 min

  3. 10/07/2021

    Natural Selections: For cats, the comfort zone is shaped like a box

    (Oct 7, 2021) Of all the places a cat can hang out, why do do many of them want to hang out in boxes? According to researchers, cats that spend time in close confines are measurably less stressed than those remaining in the open. As Curt Stager tells Martha Foley, it's not just house cats who feel this way.

    5 min

  4. 09/30/2021

    Natural Selections: How nature journals put the history in natural history

    (Sep 30, 2021) Martha Foley has never succeeded in keeping a nature journal long-term, but Curt Stager finds them invaluable in his work. He records his observations on paper, but also finds great data through researching the journals of past observers, from Samuel de Champlain to Thomas Jefferson, to ordinary little-known North Country folk. His hint - always put it on paper. Whatever became of all that stuff on your floppy diskettes?

    6 min

  5. 09/23/2021

    Natural Selections: Bats can sing, too!

    (Sep 23, 2021) Humans, birds, and whales are not the only creatures who can sing. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss recent research that uncovered bats also use learned songs to communicate.

    5 min

  6. 09/16/2021

    Natural Selections: Just how individual are animals?

    (Sep 16, 2021) We tend to think that dogs do this, and that cats do that. We think animal species have a recognizable set of behaviors that define the nature of their kind. But what about individual animals? Does each have something we could understand as a unique personality?

    5 min

  7. 09/09/2021

    More fish: good for the flowers, bad for the snakes

    (Sep 9, 2021) The complex web of species interaction is full of odd associations. Stocking a lake with fish cuts down on dragonflies, which helps pollinators, which helps the flowers bloom. Or it can cut down on amphibians such as newts, which is bad for garter snakes. Invasive flowering purple loosestrife is good for insects and birds that feed on them, but hard on plankton, which is at the bottom of the food chain for everything. Martha Foley and Curt Stager look an unintended consequences of human actions in nature.

    5 min

  8. 09/02/2021

    Really, really big bugs (and some tiny ones, too)

    (Sep 2, 2021) Martha Foley? - not a fan of bugs. And Curt Stager took a course on them to steady his own reactions. The Natural Selections team looks at the outliers on the spectrum, the largest and smallest of critters with too many legs. New Zealand's weta makes a real handful. The fairy fly is nearly invisible. Some prehistoric dragonflies were big enough to make off with the cat.

    5 min
See All (98)

Ratings & Reviews

4.9
out of 5
11 Ratings

About

Conversations about the natural world with Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley, from member-supported North Country Public Radio.

Information

  • Creator
    NCPR: North Country Public Radio
  • Years Active
    2005 - 2021
  • Episodes
    98
  • Copyright
    ℗ & © 2026, NCPR: North Country Public Radio 010329
  • Show Website
    Natural Selections