the Best Biome

The Best Biome Podcast

a love letter to grasslands

Two prairie biologists make the ever-growing argument for why grasslands are the world’s best biome.

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The Best Biome

Prairie biologists make the ever-growing argument for why grasslands are the world’s best biome.

Episode Notes

It’s so hard to even think of monkeys that aren’t forest dwellers, but baboons as a group are ground-dwelling grasslanders whose habitat use and social structure might help us learn about our own hominid ancestors. In this episode, Allan combines ecology and anthropology to discuss some grasslands monkeys.

Photos and more are at our site.

Primary Sources:

King, G.E. 2022. Baboon perspectives on the ecology and behavior of early human ancestors. PNAS Vol. 119, No. 45
Norton, G. W. et al., 1987. Baboon Diet: A Five-Year Study of Stability and Variability in the Plant Feeding and Habitat of the Yellow Baboons (Papio cynocephalus) of Mikumi National Park, Tanzania, Folia Primatologica, 48(1-2), 78-120.
Fagot, J. et al. 2019. The baboon: A model for the study of language evolution. Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 126, Pages 39-50

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[S2E9] A Grasslands Primate (Baboons)

[S2E9] A Grasslands Primate (Baboons)

February 3, 2023

Rachel Roth and Nicole Brown

[S2E8] ChamWOW! (Chamois)

January 19, 2023

Rachel Roth and Nicole Brown

[S2E7] Prairie Crayfish

January 5, 2023

Rachel Roth and Nicole Brown

[S2E6] African Savannas 101

December 22, 2022

Rachel Roth and Nicole Brown

[S2E5] Bumblelove: why bumblebees matter more than honeybees

December 8, 2022

Rachel Roth and Nicole Brown

[S2E4] Lifestyles of the Secretive and Soggy (Henslow's Sparrow)

November 24, 2022

Rachel Roth and Nicole Brown

[S2E3] Helicopter Mates (Patagonian Mara)

November 17, 2022

Rachel Roth and Nicole Brown

[S2E2] Savage Stinky Scavengers (Hyenas)

February 19, 2022

Rachel Roth and Nicole Brown

[S2E1] The Noble Ibis

February 3, 2022

Rachel Roth and Nicole Brown

[S1E25] Disease-ridden Bloodsuckers

October 28, 2021

Rachel Roth and Nicole Brown

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Episodes Expounded

Dive deeper into the topics featured on our episodes.

Hamadryas baboons cuddle against a dark background.

A Grasslands Primate (Baboons)

Baboons are a group of ground-dwelling grasslanders whose habitat use and social structure might help us learn about our own hominid ancestors.

Crayfish

These feisty little ecosystem engineers are expert diggers, seek out drugs, and are great models for anxiety.

Bumblebee perched in the middle of a flower.

Bumblebee

Bumblebees are excellent pollinators and have surprisingly complex brains.

Patagonian mara laying on side, fully relaxed, at the National Zoo.

Patagonian Maras

Patagonian Maras are a unique rodent with one of the strangest social structures of any mammal.

Spotted hyena itching neck and tilting head to side, making a weird face.

Hyenas

Let's be real: hyenas are savage scavengers and that's why we love them. They need some good PR, but let's accept them as they are.

Tick waving arms at the very top of a leaf.

Diseased Bloodsuckers

Saw-filled mouths, magical spit, and so much more. Ticks are truly marvelous little bloodsuckers.

Dodder

Dodder: a parasitic cheater, or helpful companion?

Indian Painted Grasshoppers mating on plant.

Grasshoppers

Grasshoppers may yet save the world... if they don't destroy it first.