Explore every episode of the podcast DOC Sounds of Science Podcast

Conservation scientist Graeme Elliott is an ultimate bird nerd. With a career spanning over 50 years, Graeme has studied and worked with a range of native bird species, including moho pererū/banded rail, mātātā/fernbird, mohua/yellowhead, kākāpō, kea, and toroa/wandering albatross. His body of research has significantly expanded New Zealand’s knowledge of endangered birds and the threats facing them.

In this episode, Graeme talks about the quirky behaviour of wandering albatross, the incredible birdlife on predator free subantarctic islands, his love for ‘dickie’ birds, and his pivotal research on mohua and beech seed fall patterns in Fiordland.

The audio at the beginning is a mohua/yellowhead. The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters.

Marine biologist and primatologist Dr Jody Weir has extensive expertise on marine animals, specifically: fur seals, dolphins and turtles – all things finned and beautiful.

Jody has also researched lemurs in Madagascar, bears and wolves in Canada, and turtles in Barbados. Learn about her exciting and varied career in our latest episode.

The audio at the beginning of the episode is a kekeno New Zealand fur seal. The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters.

George knows everything there is to know about hooved creatures that walk on their toes—ungulates, for those in the know—and he’s a keen hunter as well as a technical advisor on the topic of wild animals.

Hear about where we’re at with hunting and wild animal control, from one of our foremost experts who is also a hunter. George wears all the hats.

The audio at the beginning of the episode is a Western weka.

The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters

Content warning for (respectful and scientific) discussion of hunting and dead animals

Full shownotes and transcript at www.doc.govt.nz/podcast 

Cassie has the most interesting answer possible to the question ‘what do you do for fun?’ She rehabilitates penguins.

As one of our technical advisors specialising in fauna, in addition to running swim practice for penguins in her backyard, Cassie has a lot of wildlife rehabilitation stories and tips.

Listen to this unmissable episode now.

• The audio used at the beginning is a tawaki/Fiordland crested penguin splashing in pool and making honking sound
• The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters
• Shownotes and transcript at www.doc.govt.nz/podcast

Terry is an expert in all kinds of parrots, specifically kākā, kākāriki karaka/NZ parakeet and kākāpō.

He’s spent a lot of time catching and monitoring birds, studying them, and advising on the impacts of predator control on non-target species. Plus, he has some field stories that are so incredible, you’ll think he’s lying. At first, we thought he was lying.

• The audio at the beginning of the episode is the call of the North Island kākā
• The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters

Transcript and shownotes available at www.doc.govt.nz/podcast 

Part 2 of our special with kākāpō scientist, Dr. Andrew Digby. We ask listeners’ questions about kākāpō, talk about some of the biggest wins and disappointments in kākāpō management, and learn new facts about this rare, unusual species.

Transcript and shownotes at www.doc.govt.nz/podcast

Dr. Andrew Digby does a deep dive on the science of kākāpō management, recalls weird behaviour he’s observed from them in the field, and explains some of the big challenges the population are facing, including disease outbreak and low fertility. 

Transcript and full shownotes at www.doc.govt.nz/pocast

To celebrate summer in Aotearoa, we’ve put together a supercut, packed to the brim with all the best bits from previous episodes. 

From cryptic species to sharks to seal production—this supercut has something for everyone. 

Full shownotes and transcript at www.doc.govt.nz/podcast

Volcanologist Hollei Gabrielsen (Ngāti Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Whitikaupeka) on providing advice about volcanoes, particularly in Tongariro National Park; and how her whakapapa, heritage, informs her work.

Hollei discusses what you need to know to head out on an adventure in Tongariro, and answer listeners’ questions about lava, caldera, phreatic (steam) explosions, and more.

The audio at the beginning is alpine wind ambience.

The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters.

Full shownotes and transcript at www.doc.govt.nz/podcast

Freshwater scientist Nixie Boddy on researching non-migratory galaxiids, native fish, and her adventures in the field—some of which involve costumes.

Nixie has a huge amount of knowledge about how non-migratory galaxiids interact with threats and river flows, and the broader ecology of their habitat. In this episode she explains fish passage, electric fishing, and many other mysteries of the deep/shallow. It’s another must-listen.

The audio at the beginning is an alpine stream in Fiordland National Park

The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters

Shownotes and transcript: www.doc.govt.nz/podcast 

Kiwi ranger Tim Raemaekers on the tokoeka kiwi monitoring programme in Fiordland, the predator control challenges at Shy Lake, and the emotional roller-coaster of starring in a conservation mini-series on YouTube. We also get into the detail of what makes stoats such a massive threat to kiwi and how 1080 can buy kiwi time.

Tim led the kiwi monitoring project at Shy Lake from 2017-2022 and is the star of the Fiordland Kiwi Diaries, the YouTube series following DOC rangers in Fiordland as they work to save the iconic tokoeka kiwi.

• The audio at the beginning is a tokoeka kiwi duet
• The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters

Ranger and Biodiversity Project lead Tim Raemaekers on handling rare species, becoming a kiwi ranger, and the incredible things he’s seen robin/toutouwai, kākāpō and kiwi get up to.

Tim is an on-the-ground expert, whose knowledge of predator control in Fiordland is second to none. He stars in the Fiordland Kiwi Diaries, a YouTube mini-series following DOC rangers in Fiordland as they work to save the iconic tokoeka kiwi.

Tim had so many cool stories, we’ve split his interview into two episodes. Part 2 coming soon. Subscribe so you get it when it lands.

• The audio at the beginning is a tokoeka kiwi
• The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters

Content warning: mention of blood (minor) at 09m:44s.

Ranger Chris Dodd (Doddy) on what it’s like to track and monitor rare kiwi birds in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Doddy is a passionate kiwi conservationist who started his career working with seabirds on the Shetland Islands. He has years of expertise working with all kinds of kiwi.

He features in the Fiordland Kiwi Diaries, an upcoming YouTube mini-series following DOC rangers in Fiordland as they work to save the iconic tokoeka kiwi.

• The audio at the beginning is a tokoeka kiwi
• The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters

Marine biologist Laura Boren dives into her favourite topic, seals, and shares some on-the-job stories about this mischievous species.

Laura grew up in the landlocked state of Nebraska and is now one of the preeminent marine biologists in this island nation, so our first question was why? Second was how?

Laura was on the front lines saving marine species in the wake of the Rena oil spill, has recently been working to develop pup shelters, and is extremely passionate about responsible dog ownership in areas with marine wildlife. Plus, she has some top tips for hanging out with kekeno, seals. 

• The audio at the beginning is crashing waves
• The music used is 'Let’s Get Down to Business' by Cast of Characters.

Ranger Hana Harris explains how we can help protect kauri from the notorious pathogen threatening our forests.

Hana hails from the beautiful Northland region. In this episode she shares kōrero about her connection to native species and ecosystems through both her whakapapa and her role as a ranger. She covers the experience of discovering pekapeka/bat roosts, fighting to keep spaces pest-free, and of course, her work as kaitiaki kauri, teaching people about the magnificent kauri.

• The birdsong is a dawn chorus featuring tūī
• The music used is 'Let’s Get Down to Business' by Cast of Characters.

Ecologist Michelle Bradshaw discusses what we can learn from the data we get from banded birds and shares some cautionary tales about on the fly identification.

Michelle is in charge of the National Banding Scheme in Aotearoa and brings hands-on banding experience from bird colonies all around the world. If you’re a bird nerd, Michelle has the kind of work stories that’ll make you green with envy.

• The birdsong in this episode is the black-fronted tern
• The music used is 'Let’s Get Down to Business' by Cast of Characters.

The DOC Sounds of Science podcast is a behind-scenes-look at conservation in Aotearoa New Zealand. Every episode we chat with one of our experts about their greatest achievements and most interesting days on the job.

Watch our trailer animation!

In this episode we’re talking about how our conservation past intersects with both our present and our future, and how our treaty commitments need to be at the heart of this.

Aroha Gilling is an academic specialising in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and an experienced Treaty Ranger. She’s passionate about education, and this episode contains a wealth of expertise about nature and being a good Treaty Partner. Aroha is also a superfan of all creatures great and small in the Rangitahi Molesworth Recreation Reserve. It’s her happy place.

• The birdsong in this episode is a dawn chorus.
• The music used is 'Let’s Get Down to Business' by Cast of Characters.

For further reading, learn about our responsibility to give effect to the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi under section 4 of the Conservation Act.

CITES is an international agreement regulating the import and export of endangered animals and plants. What’s this? And why is it important? CITES officer Avi Narula is going to tell you.

Avi has worked with big cats, endangered turtles, and renegade scamps like skunks and racoons. Now he’s here in Aotearoa New Zealand making sure wildlife goods don’t illegally cross the borders.

The most important thing he wants you to know is that before you shop or travel, please check if your item needs a wildlife permit. More info on our CITES page.

• The birdsong in this episode is a dawn chorus.
• The music used is 'Let’s Get Down to Business' by Cast of Characters.

Te reo Māori translation: Kia ora! Ko Erica Wilkinson tēnei. He kōnae ipurangi tēnei, e pā ana ki ngā Sounds of Science. (Hi! My name is Erica Wilkinson and this is a podcast about Sounds of Science).

We had some sound difficulties with this recording. We’re sorry and have resolved this for future episodes. Avi’s stories are still top notch, and we hope you enjoy the episode.

Stories about velvet worms, tiny frogs, crooning bats and more from ecologist Jess Scrimgeour. 

Jess knows that the Fab Five—in this case we mean kākāpō, kiwi, whio, takahē, and kererū—are easy to love, but she wants to light your spark for the hard to see, hard to hear, or hard to find critters too: like pekapeka/bats, wētā, pepeketua/frogs, and even the peripatus/velvet worm which fires a sticky substance when it feels threatened. How iconic. 

• The birdsong in this episode is a dawn chorus.
• The music used is 'Let’s Get Down to Business' by Cast of Characters.

Te reo Māori translation:

Kia ora! Ko Erica Wilkinson tēnei. He kōnae ipurangi tēnei, e pā ana ki ngā Sounds of Science. (Hi! My name is Erica Wilkinson and this is a podcast about Sounds of Science).

Renowned shark expert Clinton Duffy shares niche knowledge and on-the-job stories.

Sharks have a little bit of a PR problem. They’re fascinating, intelligent creatures, and most of them mind their own business. But they are predators, and the more you know, the better prepared you are.

This episode has it all. Sharks that walk on land (we’re not making this up), a run through of shark reproduction which is so amazing and varied it could have come from a sci-fi writer’s brain, and an update on our work to monitor shark species in an area as complex and vast as the ocean. All this, and Clinton shares some of his shark encounter stories with us. 

• The sound effect in this episode is waves crashing onshore  
• The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters

There aren’t many jobs with us that Jack hasn’t turned his hand to. Remote island ranger, species monitor, trapper, hunter, ranger trainer, systems designer, operations manager – you name it, Jack has probably done it. He’s deeply passionate about conservation and has accumulated a lot of great stories. 

In this episode Jack shares stories about powelliphanta, kōkako, Tūturuatu, Canterbury Mudfish, Mana Island flax weevil, Alseuosmia the mimic plant, akeake the giant daisy, ongaonga the serious stinging nettle; as well as diesel grass, Rockhopper penguins, sea lions, kiwi, and parea/Chatham Island pigeon. And more! It’s a chocka block 39 minutes.

• The bird sound in this episode is the Parea/Chatham Island pigeon
• The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters

Did you know that Aotearoa’s rarest parakeet is a small, forest-dwelling bird, and there are only about 360 estimated to be left in the wild? The kākāriki karaka, or orange-fronted parakeet are in serious trouble. Listen and learn about the work to monitor and track this species, control predators in critical areas, and boost numbers with captive breeding.

Plus hear how Andrew got started in this specific field and has become the office ‘cat scat guy’— not a title he ever sought out.

• The bird sound in this episode is the kākāriki karaka
• The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters
• Te reo Māori intro translation: Kia ora! Ko Erica Wilkinson tēnei. He kōnae ipurangi tēnei, e pā ana ki ngā Sounds of Science. (Hi! My name is Erica Wilkinson and this is a podcast about Sounds of Science).

We work in partnership with Ngāi Tahu to lead the kākāriki karaka recovery programme, which includes extensive predator control in their mainland habitat through the Tiakina Ngā Manu programme, captive breeding and maintaining a pest-free island population.

The Isaac Conservation and Wildlife Trust, Auckland Zoo, Orana Wildlife Park, Christchurch Helicopters and Canterbury University all provide crucial support for this programme.

This is the much awaited second part of Brent Beaven’s Predator Free interview. In this episode, we’re talking about upcoming innovations as well as current predator control tools, and yes that includes 1080. This episode is a big swing and we hope it gives you some important context.

• The bird sound in this episode is the Northern brown kiwi
• The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters
• Brent’s excellent blog series about Predator Free is available on the Conservation Blog

Brent is on the show to tell us everything we need to know about Predator Free 2050 – in fact, he told us so much, we’ve split his interview into two. This is part one. Brent is an expert on predator control and has decades of hands-on field experience. He's herded sea lions, been hounded by kiwi, and caught mohua in his socks. In the world of threatened species conservation, you name it and Brent has done it. Listen and learn.

• The bird sound in this episode is the Northern brown kiwi
• The music used is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters
• Brent’s excellent blog series about Predator Free is available on the Conservation Blog

Anton van Helden is a marine scientist by day moonlighting as a magician by night, although one could make the point that magic never sleeps. Anton has over 30 years of experience working with and studying marine mammals – before he worked for us, he was at Te Papa. Now, Anton works as a science advisor in our Marine Species Team, assigned to looking after Māui and Hector's dolphins. In this episode, you’ll hear talk of strandings, the subants, toxoplasmosis, pub statistics, and climate, as well as working with iwi on recovery of bones.

Abracadabra, are you listening closely?

CONTENT WARNING: Please be advised that the following episode contains specific discussion of dissection (we kept it reasonably high level) which some listeners may find graphic. This is 8.03 – 11.22. And at 23.25 we talk about taonga and why dissections are important for Iwi.

In honour of Conservation Week, we’ve put together a supercut of all our favourite moments from the past ten episodes. Lichens, bats, kākāpō sperm helmets (we couldn’t make this up), GPS, poo patches and more – this episode is packed to the brim with stories from all of our previous guests.

The birdsong used in this episode is the pīwakawaka/fantail.

Jenny Christie is used to seeing eyebrows go up when she tells people what her job is. Perhaps a few years ago, this could be chalked up to scepticism, but nowadays it’s more likely to mean, ‘wow, big job’.

Jenny’s job is climate change. She approaches this from an adaptation point of view, which means working on what we can do to manage and reduce the impacts of climate change on our native species and ecosystems. In this episode, Jenny talks about adaptation work underway, what she says to naysayers, and some of the impacts on native species we’re seeing right now.

The birdsong used this episode is the North Island Robin. The music used is Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters.

Kelly Frogley knows her stuff when it comes to non-vascular plants – and then some. In this episode, Kelly explains what a non-vascular plant is, and shares some stories about unexpected discoveries and making the most of non-optimum spaces for optimum plant identification.

We also talk about green-blindness and the importance of looking down. And up. And around – well, you get it. Non-vascular plants are all around!

The birdsong used this episode is the tui.

Music is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters.

Colin O’Donnell knows everything there is to know about pekapeka/bats. He’s accumulated some wild stories along the way. In the name of science, Colin has encountered popping bats, game-changing technology, tiger prints and gelatinous excretions – which is exactly as gross as it sounds.

Most importantly, we talk about the impact of predators on Aotearoa’s only endemic land mammal. This highlights the reason for us to work towards a Predator Free New Zealand.

The birdsong used this episode is the North Island robin.

Music is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters.

Conservation enthusiast and DOC legend Herb talks to Nic about his experience as a science communicator, navigating the bush before sat nav, being trolled by kea, and species protection on offshore islands. Plus, he treats us to some of his famous bird calls.

If there were such thing as conservation bingo, (sidebar: should we make that?), Herb would be a square all of his own, given how many times his name is mentioned in conservation conversation. “Ask Herb”, “See what Herb thinks” or “Herb might know” are popular refrains around here. Cheers to this stalwart of species survival.

The birdsong (well, bird scream) used this episode is the kea.

Music is Let’s Get Down to Business by Cast of Characters.

Insect expert Eric Edwards talks to us about ecosystems, climate change and cataloguing critters. He also shares his adventures catching true bugs in Micronesia and navigating poo patches (!) in the Subantarctic Islands.

The sounds at the beginning and end are cicadas on Rough Island in Nelson.

Music is Let’s get down to business by Cast of Characters.

Emma Williams knows a lot about bittern/matuku. This is impressive because they’re very difficult to find. She calls them the ‘ninjas of the wetland’. In this episode, Nic and Emma talk about tracking bittern and embarrassing yourself in Mitre 10.

Listen to Emma’s tales of her adventures with bittern dog Kimi, as the duo work to protect wetlands’ precious conservation values. Plus, Emma teaches Nic how to do a bittern mating call, which will be a treat for your ears. Sort of.

The birdsong used this episode is the Australasian bittern/matuku boom.

Technical advisor Stuart Cockburn talks to us about his scientific innovations, which are world-firsts and have been critical in protecting native species.

Stu’s responsible for kākāpō snarks, track counters, seabird soundscapes, grasshopper detectors and much, much more. He also once got into a one-way fight with a great spotted kiwi (the bird started it,) and is directly responsible for Nic getting questioned by airport security. All in a day’s work for Stu.

A snark is a device that records transmitters on kākāpō.

The birdsong used this episode is the Australasian gannet.

Music is Let’s get down to business by Cast of Characters.

Lizard expert Lynn Adams shares tales from the world of reptile conservation – including two near misses for the “curly wurly” tailed Chesterfield skink.

Lynn and Nic also discuss the main threats to lizards - mice, hedgehogs, habitat loss and climate change. They finish up on a positive note, with what we can do to help protect our native reptiles.

Find out more:

• Learn about New Zealand’s lizard species
• How to identify lizards
• Report your alpine lizard sightings

From kākāpō to kiwi, Kate McInnes is vet to all of New Zealand’s native species. It’s a one-of-a-kind job! Listen to Kate talk about avian lesions, kākāpō sperm and birds with salmonella.

Kate and Nic also reveal the humble origins of the now infamous ‘sperm helmet’, on display at Te Papa National Museum. 

The birdsong used in this episode is a dawn chorus with tui in the foreground.

Learn more about what to plant to support birds and wildlife.

Music is Let’s get down to business by Cast of Characters.

Marine species expert Hannah Hendriks talks whale strandings, post-mortems and crucial data. 

The birdsong at the start of this episode is the North Island robin.

Find out more:

• Māui dolphin abundance estimates
• Māui dolphin toxicology and disease research