Quirky Creepy and Freaky – Details, episodes & analysis

Happy Halloween! We have another invasive species today, and one that catches the headlines every so often: Hammerhead worms. These are pretty distinctive worms, but turns out they might not be as bad as the headlines make them seem? Tune in to learn more about these snazzy flatworms, the truth behind the headlines, and what to do if you see one.  Case study on hammerhead worm misinformation: https://www.scielo.br/j/rsbmt/a/GyhLXXmcJcbrqk7C3tzD49p/?lang=en

And we're back! October is here, and it's spooky scary invasive species month on the podcast, and this episode we're kicking it off with the nutria. This semi-aquatic rodent is an introduced species in the United States, and wreaks havoc on the wetlands it lives in. Tune in to learn about where it came from, the surprising impacts a rodent can have on the ecosystem, and what we can do to help.  And mild correction, the Invasive Species Centre is in Canada, not California, though I'm sure California has a lovely invasive species group. 

We're back! Did you know about sea cucumbers? Did you know sea cucumbers sometimes have some fishy friends? Now you do! Tune on in to hear about sea cucumbers, some ramblings about their cousins, and the fishy friend that lives with them in one of the stranger of the symbiotic relationships in the ocean. 

We know why cats purr, but do we really know HOW cats purr? After a new paper was released in early November, now we do! Or at least we have some new insight into it. Tune in to learn more about cats, the aerodynamics behind your cat's purr, some new cat discoveries, and find out the nitty gritty behind how cats make their purring sounds.  Sources:  Herbst, C.T, Prigge, T., Garcia, M., Hampala, V., Hofer, R., Weissengruber G.E., Svec, J.G., Fitch W.T. 2023. Domestic cat larynges can produce purring frequencies without neural input. Current Biology, 33:4727-4732 Why cats purr is a surprisingly long-standing mystery. Now we're one step closer to solving it. https://www.livescience.com/animals/cats/why-cats-purr-is-a-surprisingly-long-standing-mystery-now-were-one-step-closer-to-solving-it

How cats purr: The mystery unraveled at last! https://cats-magazine.com/2023/10/11/how-cats-purr-the-mystery-unraveled-at-last/

What happens when you introduce a species of butterfly to a new island, and not one, but two new wasps also show up? A parasitic wasp version of nesting dolls! For our Halloween episode, we're talking about some butterfly body snatchers who also have body snatchers; a butterfly's parasitic wasp also has a parasitic wasp! Tune in to learn how one caterpillar can have two hidden parasitoids at once, just how tiny a wasp can be, and who the Glanville Fritillary Butterfly was named after!

Can jellyfish learn despite not having a brain? This week we're talking about a recently published paper providing evidence that box jellyfish are capable of types of learning previously thought to require, well, a brain! Tune in to learn more about box jellyfish, their nervous systems, and what sorts of things a jellyfish can learn!

The paper: 

Bielecki, J., Nielsen, S.K.D., Nachman, G., and Garm, A. 2023. Associative learning in the box jellyfish Tripedalia cystophora. Current Biology 33, 1-10. 

It's a good time of year for newt finding! This week we're talking all about our little Eastern Newt and other salamander friends. Have you ever wondered what makes a newt different from a salamander? Tune in to find out! 

Have you ever wondered what triggers the feeling of sleepiness at night? Or what about what happens while you're sleeping? This episode is all about the cycles of sleep: what the different stages of sleep there are, and how we cycle through them, and the circadian rhythms we have that cycle us through these sleep-wake patterns every day.

Cuttlefish can change colors to instantly blend in, a lot of animals have color patterns to disappear into their typical surroundings, but did you know that some spiders can change color too? This week we talk about the goldenrod crab spider, whose camouflage abilities help them to disappear on meadow flowers so they can nab their prey and hide from predators. Tune in to hear about the color-changing abilities of the goldenrod crab spider and the surprising ways they use prey pigments along with their own pigments to change colors!

In July, Florida experienced record high water temperatures, causing mass coral bleaching and mass mortality events. But what happens when coral bleaches? Is a bleached coral a dead coral? What causes coral bleaching? We're going to cover all of it! Tune in to learn about corals, and how current events sure are stressing them out enough that they just bleach and turn white.  To see footage of the bleaching event around the Florida Keys: https://www.flickr.com/photos/myfwc/sets/72177720309991225/ patreon: www.patreon.com/quirkycreepyfreakypod