In Defense of Plants Podcast

What happens when you disrupts plants? You disrupt ecosystems! Paleobotany provides us with multiple case studies on how change plant communities affects all walks of life and can lead to mass extinctions across the globe. Joining us to talk about this is the Assistant Curator for La Brea Tar Pits & Museum Dr. Regan Dunn. Dr. Dunn's work is uncovering sobering insights into how climate and plants interact during important peri...

What do the white fringeless orchid (Platanthera integrilabia) and the red-cockaded woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis) have in common? Habitat preferences! This is becoming increasingly apparent on the Cumberland Plateau of southern Tennessee. Natural Areas Program Manager for the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation Sam King joins us for a story about how a chance logging mistake is teaching them how ...

Orchids are the botanical poster children for plant-fungi interactions. Every orchid has a close relationship with at least one species of orchid. Understanding how these relationships play out from orchid roots and across ecosystems is key to orchid understanding and conservation. Joining us to talk about the complexity of understanding these relationships is Dr. Melissa McCormick of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center a...

The genus Prunus gives us apricots, plums, cherries, and almonds, but also a ton of under appreciated plant diversity. Prunus around the world have managed to adapt to a surprising variety of environmental conditions and have a lot to teach us about plant evolution as a result. That is why they are the focus of Dr. Richie Hodel's lab. Join us for a wonderfully deep dive into how he and his colleagues are trying to understand the ev...

Habitats face pressures from all sorts of threats. Illegal logging, mining, and poaching are driving extinctions, accelerating climate change, and hurting communities everywhere. How can we use laws to change this? That is what Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University and Executive Director of Conservation Litigation Dr. Jacob Phelps is here to talk about. Conservation Litigation is a wonderful organization that exists to "to hold t...

Puerto Rico may not be a very large island but its forests certainly are complex. Historically, Puerto Rico lost nearly 95% of its forest cover due to human activities but humans are also playing an important role in how they grow back. Understanding how historical land use and human management have influenced the regrowth of Puerto Rico's forests has been a major part of Dr. Ariel Lugo's scientific career. From naturalized and inv...

Epiphytes of one kind or another are ubiquitous components of ecosystems around the globe, but we still know little about what they are doing up in the forest canopy. For instance, how do epiphytes influence the water cycle of various ecosystems? Figuring out how epiphytes interact with the water cycle can help us refine models of drought, climate change, and so much more. Joining us to talk about this is Dr. John Van Stan who you ...

Rare plants aren't rare for the same reasons. They aren't even rare at different points in time. Figuring out the causes and consequences of plant rarity on a species by species basis is both very hard and very important. Ecologists have to get creative with time, money, and other resources. Join me and Dr. Varina Crisfield as we explore the topic of plant rarity in Canada's boreal forests. This episode was produced in part by Jber...

Cloning may seem like a futuristic topic largely reserved for science fiction but plants are doing it all the time. Clonality is one of the many aspects that can make plant species successful across the landscape. It can also greatly impact the way we approach plant conservation efforts. Despite the importance of cloning in plants, we still know very little about how its influences plant population dynamics. Which plants are clonal...

Daisy trees, petrels, and pink iguanas... The Galápagos Islands are home to unique endemic species found nowhere else in the world. Sadly, the ecosystems that support them are under threat from invasive species and outright destruction. If something isn't done to turn the tide, species will be lost forever. Luckily, organizations such as Jocotoco Conservation Foundation are hard at work slowing and hopefully reversing this trend. J...

Dragonflies and damselflies are voracious aerial predators that help keep populations of other insects like mosquitoes in check. These amazing insects also require aquatic habitats to complete their life cycles. Simply put, without wetlands we don't have dragonflies and damselflies. However, not all wetlands will do. My guest Dr. Mary Ann Perron is here to discuss why native aquatic plants are absolutely essential to the success of...

Disturbances from fire and wind to insects and humans play a huge role in forest dynamics through time. Throw in the impacts of climate change, and these dynamics only get more complicated. Understanding how disturbances interact and influence how forests change through time is of great interest to people from all walks of life and that is why people like Dr. Kenneth Anyomi are hard at work studying them. Join us for a deep dive on...

How common or rare are species in an ecosystem? The answer to this might seem simple, but as with everything in nature, it is not. This question can even complicate how we think of habitat conservation and restoration. When we refine and implement scientific tools like species diversity indices, we need to make sure we are applying them correctly. Join me and Dr. Robert Warren as we explore measures of species diversity, the issues...

When you start studying a group of plants, you never know what you are going to find. Sometimes it's important insights into pollination and seed dispersal. Other times it's how the uplift of mountain chains shapes wetlands and rivers. These are the kinds of discoveries that drive Dr. Ana Bedoya to study the riverweeds of the family Podostemaceae. These extreme aquatic plants are fascinating in the own right while also having a lot...

Plants are habitat. Heck, even a single leaf is habitat. Same goes for plant roots. This is especially true when we consider insects and fungi. But how do these organisms interact? How do they change over gradients of moisture, temperature, space, and time? Why do we consider some parasitic while others are mutualists? The world of ecological interactions is extremely complex but people like Dr. Chris Bivins are taking stabs at try...

What could be better than a tiny plant with an outsized impact on the world around it? Hornleaf riverweed AKA Podostemum ceratophyllum is one such plant. This tiny aquatic plant has so many mysterious surrounding it but what we do know is that it is foundational to the aquatic ecosystems in which it is found. Join me and Dr. James Wood as we take a deep dive on this unique aquatic plant and learn what you can do to help us understa...

Seed storage is one of the most important tools in plant conservation, but did you know you can also store pollen? We still have a lot to learn about storing both pollen and seeds for most species, and people like Dr. Dustin Wolkis of the Center for Plant Conservation are hard at work doing just that. Join us for an interesting look at what he and his colleagues are doing to prevent plant extinction. This episode was produced in pa...

Long lived organisms like trees face a lot of challenges throughout their lifetime. Disturbances big and small coupled with climate change are going to continue to stress trees wherever they grow. Which trees have the highest capacity to deal with said stresses? We don't know until we go looking. That is what drives scientists like Dr. Jill Hamilton. Join us as we look at how she is using poplars, spruce, and ash to understand how ...

What can investigating the genes in flower development teach us about plant evolution? A lot! What started as a simple question about the quirky nature of flower development in the order of plants collectively referred to as "the gingers" turned into multiple threads related to plant evolution and diversity. Join me and Dr. Chelsea Specht as we take a deep dive into the wild world of Zingiberales. This episode was produced in part ...