Biologists of Middle Earth – Details, episodes & analysis

In our final episode (for now), we chat to Dr. Adam Hasik, who has been working as a postdoc as part of the Fangorn Ent Project, a massive, long-term study investigating the spatial and social structure of the Ent populations within Fangorn. Beyond understanding the Ent populations themselves, Adam is also interested in understanding how these "mobile islands" interact with and are affected by the local environment. We also learn about how an Ent extinction might impact the ecosystem, Ent ethics, and what is up with the Ent wives?

To find Adam online:

https://adamhasik.wordpress.com/

https://twitter.com/HasikAdam  

https://ecologyforthemasses.com/adam-hasik/ 

To find Sam and Dani online:

https://twitter.com/Aqua_Dan1

https://twitter.com/BigDrFishBoi

Music from Pond5

Biologists of Middle Earth is as always brought to you by Sam Perrin and Dani Crowley. If you enjoyed this episode, let us know, and feel free to send in questions to any of our guests to answer.

Thanks for listening!

We’re joined by Dr. Vanessa Bieker to look at the origins and diversification of pipe weed, one of the cultural mainstays of Middle Earth. Despite its use all over the continent, the origins of pipe weed are a little murky, with much doubt as to where domestication first took place. Vanessa’s team is investigating the genetic diversity of the plant, testing whether the vast differences across strains are products of the environments they’re grown in, or simply a product of careful cultivation efforts by Hobbits.

To find Vanessa online:

https://twitter.com/BiekerVanessa

https://ecologyforthemasses.com/vanessa-bieker/

To find Sam and Dani online:

https://twitter.com/Aqua_Dan1

https://twitter.com/BigDrFishBoi

Music from Pond5

Biologists of Middle Earth is as always brought to you by Sam Perrin and Dani Crowley. If you enjoyed this episode, let us know, and feel free to send in questions to any of our guests to answer.

Thanks for listening!

This week we chat with Dani Crowley, co-host of our programme, who has been taking a break from reporting to work on dragon conservation in Middle Earth. Following the success of her Masters thesis on attitudes to sharks and conservation, she has been brought in on a consultant basis to work on management and co-existence plans regarding large and dangerous species in Middle Earth, particularly dragons and relatives. We discuss how we approach coexistence with dangerous species; how do you conserve a near-immortal, highly intelligent species; and how wealth redistribution can make communities less vulnerable to dragon attack. 

To find Dani online:

https://twitter.com/Aqua_Dan1

To find Sam:

https://twitter.com/BigDrFishBoi

Music from Pond5

Biologists of Middle Earth is as always brought to you by Sam Perrin and Dani Crowley. If you enjoyed this episode, let us know, and feel free to send in questions to any of our guests to answer.

Thanks for listening!

This week we speak to Annie Carew, who has been called in by the Elves to consult on restoring the Grey Havens ahead of their imminent departure from Middle Earth. The area surrounding the key elvish port is a crucial ecosystem for mitigating local floods and storms, and the Elves are keen on leaving the area in as good a condition as they found it. We explore why this ecosystem is so important for the region, how one puts together an ecological restoration report, and how shifting baseline syndrome works for a species that lives for millenia.

To find Annie online:

https://twitter.com/justonecarew

To find Sam and Dani online:

https://twitter.com/Aqua_Dan1

https://twitter.com/BigDrFishBoi

Music from Pond5

Biologists of Middle Earth is as always brought to you by Sam Perrin and Dani Crowley. If you enjoyed this episode, let us know, and feel free to send in questions to any of our guests to answer.

Thanks for listening!

We’re joined this time around by Dr. Elizabeth Mills, a science communicator and marine biologist who is currently preparing the first compendium on marine life in Middle Earth for our world. Elizabeth has been working with different communities Middle Earth, overcoming a general wariness of the sea by bringing them out to the coastline and educating them on the life present in rocky pools. Along her way she’s met sea ents, yellow-ringed octopuses and a myriad of other fascinating marine species.

To find Elizabeth online:

https://twitter.com/marinemumbles

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRDsYk5kU1mHCksjedQQ1mA

https://twitter.com/marinemumbles

To find Sam and Dani online:

https://twitter.com/Aqua_Dan1

https://twitter.com/BigDrFishBoi

Music from Pond5

Biologists of Middle Earth is as always brought to you by Sam Perrin and Dani Crowley. If you enjoyed this episode, let us know, and feel free to send in questions to any of our guests to answer.

Thanks for listening!

Our guest today is Dr. Christine Wilkinson, a carnivore ecologist whose community-led organisation has been trying to further our understanding of warg-human conflicts. With wargs now running free after their domestication at the hands of Sauron, the people of Rohan have had to find ways to deal with their fears of wargs. Christine and their team are working to understand exactly how wargs may be beneficial to people, which nonlethal conflict interventions work best against wargs, and how to combat climate change that contributes to human-warg conflict.

To find Christine online:

https://scrappynaturalist.com/

https://twitter.com/ScrapNaturalist

https://www.tiktok.com/@thescrappynaturalist

To find out more about Black Mammologist’s Week:

https://blackmammalogists.com/

To find Sam and Dani online:

https://twitter.com/Aqua_Dan1

https://twitter.com/BigDrFishBoi

Biologists of Middle Earth is as always brought to you by Sam Perrin and Dani Crowley. If you enjoyed this episode, let us know, and feel free to send in questions to any of our guests to answer.

Thanks for listening!

This week we’re joined by Thea Gayatri Fennell, a genomicist whose team was recently called into the town of Dale to investigate the outbreak of a water-borne illness. We learn how one goes about tracing the cause of an outbreak, applying biological solutions to magical problems, and how to fight a giant spider-crab.

To find Thea online:

https://twitter.com/theagayatri

https://supfam.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/bioinformatics/people/thea_fennell.html

To find Sam and Dani online:

https://twitter.com/Aqua_Dan1

https://twitter.com/BigDrFishBoi

Biologists of Middle Earth is as always brought to you by Sam Perrin and Dani Crowley. If you enjoyed this episode, let us know, and feel free to send in questions to any of our guests to answer.

Thanks for listening!

This week we’re joined by soon-to-be-Dr. Dagmar der Weduwen, a freshwater ecologist who has been studying the Watcher in the Water, the giant squid-like animal which inhabits a large lake near the gates of Moria. Dagmar takes us through what drew her to studying the Watcher, some of the behavioural experiments she’s been conducting, and some of the issues around assigning the term ‘evil’ to other species.

To find Dagmar online:

https://twitter.com/DJWeduwen

https://www.dagmarderweduwen.com/

To find out more about Science and Sorcery:

https://twitter.com/SciAndSorcery

https://linktr.ee/scienceandsorcery

https://www.twitch.tv/scienceandsorcery

To find Sam and Dani online:

https://twitter.com/Aqua_Dan1

https://twitter.com/BigDrFishBoi