335 - Major Herp-o-compatability Complex

Science... sort of

00:00:00 - Kelly and Ryan are psyched to be joined by Gina Zwicky (@GinaGoesOutside) to talk about all things herps (amphibians + reptiles)! We begin with a discussion about Gina’s work the immune system of Caribbeans lizards, specifically the major histocompatibility complexes of the Saban’s anole using the National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) awesome genetic database. And Ryan transitions the group to the next segment but half remembering a cool project on the island of Dominica that will be a joint rum distiller and sea turtle conservation hub. Neat!

00:27:08 - Amphibians need to stay near water, and much like them we also enjoy a drink. First, Gina shares her LaCroix habit, lime at the moment but ranking of flavors is involved. Kelly takes a break from red wine with a warm, relaxing cup of chamomile tea. And even though nobody asked, Ryan is having a Black Rock Milk Stout from Devil’s Backbone Brewing in Kelly’s neck of the wood AKA East Virginia. We also talk a bit about what it means to be a super taster and how to test yourself to see if you are one too.

00:37:39 - In the second segment, we talk about Gina’s work with Frog Watch, an AZA accredited program to get folks outside in their area to monitor frog populations. Gina runs tours in her neck of the woods in souther Louisiana, but if you’re in the US there may be a similar program nearby so go and check it out where you live and see if you can go listen to some cool frogs!

01:02:21 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like frog watching, they’re both mostly about listening. First, we thank Amanda B. for becoming a recurring PayPal donor (again!). Thanks, Amanda! And another round of our thanks goes out to @z_dieg for tweeting about how much he liked our AGU episode helmed by our very own Tim Dobbs. Great job, Tim!

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Music credit: Frogs in Tuxes - Podington Bear Audio Production by Rob Heath