The Behavioural Ecology and Evolution Podcast (the Beepcast)

Oct 17: Iain Couzin's Scientific Spark, why do deer in Japan bow, and why are some plant nectars bitter?

This month I meet some very polite deer who have a special way of asking for food. I discover why some plant nectars contain poisonous toxins. And in the scientific spark

Sept 2015: Kate Umbers, burying beetle parental care, and tasteless monkey thieves

This month I find out that animals should be careful when choosing a mate, picking a partner that matches them in quality, else they might face an early grave! I discover

Aug 2015: ZSL Scientist Patricia Brekke, polar bear welfare at Yorkshire Wildlife Park, and self-medicating ants

This month I hear how a wildlife park in Yorkshire is providing the perfect retirement setting for an old polar bear. I discover that social insects make trips to natures

July 2015: Johan Nilson, sea ducks, and horse facial expressions

This month I find out about sea ducks who enjoy a rather sophisticated fast food diet of mussels. I discover that horses horse around with lots of different facial expres

June 2015: Lucy Nash from OUP, Dottybacks change colour to hide from prey, and moths that slow their brains down

In this episode I discover that some species of coral reef fish change colour, and they do this to grab a sneaky meal! I also find out how moths find flowers in the dark.

May 2015: Marie Herbenstein, deception and disguise of orchid mantis and owl butterflies with @jamohanlon @JohannaMappes and @SebaDeBona

This month I’m joined by special guest James O’Hanlon from the Australian museum in Sydney for a deception and disguise special. James tells me about his PhD research on

April 2015: Tristram Wyatt, the hormonal bond between humans and their dogs, and predator-prey flight and fight behaviour

This month I discover what black field crickets do when predatory lizards get too close. I find out how humans bond with their canine chums. In the Scientific spark I tal

March 2015: Shaun Killen, animal personality, and guppy food preferences

This month, I discover that a preference for a particular colour of food can be heritable, and I also have a chat with Niels Dingemanse from the Max Planck Institute for

Feb 2015: Damien Farine, penguins who can't taste, and shiny tree swallows

This month, I find out that penguins can’t tell the difference between savoury and sweet. I also chat with Sonia Van Wijk from The Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec, Can

Jan 2015: Niels Dingemanse, animal arithmetic, and smooth billed ani alarm calls

This month, animal arithmetic from a research group in Italy who investigated how chickens order numbers – I put Naked Scientist Graihagh Jackson through her paces. Also

Dec 2014: Innes Cuthill, tropical lizard leaf mimicry, and bird infrasound

Professor Innes Cuthill from the University of Bristol describes his Scientific Spark. Danielle Klomp from the University of New South Wales, tells me about two populatio

Nov 2014: The Wiltschkos and magnetic navigation in birds

A sensory ecology bonanza! Professor Wolfgang and Roswita Wiltschko, the husband and wife team who were the first to show that birds have a magnetic sense and use the ear

Oct 2014: Ben Sheldon, rock goby camouflage, and lizard imitation

Professor Ben Sheldon, who is the Luc Hoffman Chair of field ornithology and director of the Edward Grey Institute of field ornithology at the University of Oxford tells

Sept 2014: Leigh Simmons, stickleback personality, and caterpillars with hats

Dieter Hochuli from the University of Sydney, tells me what life’s like for a caterpillar, and how one has evolved a cool mechanism to avoid being attacked. I find out ho

Aug 2014: Marlene Zuk, hummingbird taste perception, and magpie thieves

In this 1st birthday episode, I find out about some more avian criminals of the animal kingdom. I learn that most birds can’t taste sugar, but hummingbirds can, and I lea

July 2014: Isabella Rossellini and mammas, spider mimicry, and secret communication in horses

This month over 1000 scientists flocked to New York’s Hunter College to attend the meeting of the International Society for Behavioural Ecology or ISBE. In the coming mon

June 2014: Robert Hinde, and an antipredator defence special

Professor Robert Hinde, the Emeritus Royal Society Research Professor of Zoology at the University of Cambridge is this month's Scientific Spark. Robert talks about the e

May 2014: Neil Metcalfe, ZSL's hihi, and cuckoo - hawk mimicry

This month, the masters of disguise: I find out about an animal that can mimic two different species, for two entirely different reasons. I learn about a colourful bird f

April 2014: David Sherry and marsh tits, zebra stripes, and Arabian babblers

David Sherry from the Western University in Canada tells me what inspired him to study the hoarding behavior of birds, in the Scientific Spark. Oded Keynan explains the b

March 2014: Temple Grandin, autism, weaver birds, and tadpole social learning

The social lives of animals is this month's theme. I talk to Damien Farine from the Edward Grey Institute at Oxford University, who tells me how weaver birds decide how m