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Oh hey, it's that coconut cream pie with the pastry crust. It's pretty good. Would have been better with the Graham cracker crust. But anyway, Ali Ward back with the most special episode of Ologies maybe ever, literally maybe my favorite ever. So let's get to it asap. First off, thank you for everyone who has been rating and subscribing and who leaves reviews. You know I read them all and I pick out a fresh one. So thank you, LWHG N J s H s h u U. I promise you
that I'm going to get more sleep next week. Okay, if you listened to last week's episode Pelicanology with Chuwea Martinez, you likely have pelicans on the brain, saggy sacks and all, and hopefully celebrated last week's Black Birders Week, the inaugural one. It ran from May thirty first to June fifth, and it was launched as reaction to some recent really distressing events.
And zoologist and wildlife enthusiast Karina Newsom is one of the co founders of Blackbirders Week, and she announced it to her ever growing Twitter audience over sixty thousand people last week.
For far too long, black people in the United States have been shown that outdoor exploration activities such as birding are not for us, whether it be because of the way the media chooses to present who is the outdoorsy type or the racism experienced by black people when we do explore the outdoors, as we saw recently in Central Park. Well, we've decided to change that narrative. A group of black birds explorers and scientists got to get to start the
first ever Blackbirders Week. Help us to show the world, especially the next generation of young blackbirders and nature enthusiasts that we exist, that they are welcome, and that this space belongs to them too.
This exploded. It resulted in news articles on like CNN and trending hashtags for Blackbirders Week live streams with thousands of people watching, and we celebrated with pelicanology for it. And you should definitely follow at blackaf in Stem on Twitter. They gained twenty five thousand followers from all the press just last week. So you can click on link tree in their bio you'll find all the live streams and recaps. It's a really wonderful way to catch up after the fact if you missed it.
But wait, there's more.
But Blackbirder's Week was so transformative, so huge, I did not want it to end. It shouldn't. Elevating black scientists and listening to and advocating for people is not a TikTok trend. This is a life long battle to dismantle a system that is oppressing people. So before Blackbird's Week started, I reached out to some Internet buddies who formed black af and STEM, and I asked them if I could make a compilation episode so we could all kind of
walk away having like thirty new science heroes. Listen to their weird facts and passions and work and get them in your timelines. You can follow on social media. You can cheer on their successes, listen to their frustrations and experiences. If you're a person of color in STEM who needs icons and community, follow along and see them just owning what they do. So please enjoy the following very special episode with the most Ologists Ologies has ever had the
most ologies in one ologies. As you learn about everything from electric fish noses to turtle butts, to how to bird, how to be an ally, how to be black af and stem advice from black scientists and more so, get ready to root for, follow and fawn over the assorted logists who are black aff.
Hey, what's up, Alli? This is Alex or Alexi g. Most people know me as David Attenborough. That is my Twitter handle online, but in real life out there, I'm actually I've been working in the zoo field for the better part of six years now, so most of the organisms I'm close with are actually nocturnal mammals. So I spend a lot of time inside of a building that has this really cool reverse light cycle. But I'm gonna
pause right there. I'm actually gonna go tell a little bit about my history in the field, because before I was zookeeper, I was a zoo educator, and in that job, I would talk to thousands of people every single day. My personal goal, or my goal, I guess in the job, was to share conservation with anyone and everyone. I wanted people to walk away with some sort of positive interaction related to either an animal or a concept, and then I wanted them to be able to take that energy
out into the world. Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn't, but it's all a numbers game. So my personal goal, though despite the professional one, was to simply be present. I wanted a black face to be on conservation. Maybe I wasn't out there like Bill Ny, but my goal was simply for people to see me and associate my face my skin tone with conservation, and maybe young black kids would see me and know that they could do it too, because there really wasn't that much special about me,
especially not at a time. So in the capacity as a zoo keeper now, I still maintain that goal. I still want to be out there for those kids, but I'm not as much in the public eye as I was in the past, so I tend to hang out in this very dark building with a number of nocturnal mammals, and one of my favorite animals in this building is the prehensile tailed porcupine. This is a salt and pepper colored porcupine that lives in the trees and is found primarily in Central and South America.
They're salt and pepper.
Colored and they have this really cool taiale that is that acts essentially like a finger. But their most notable feature or trait that people catch when they see them is they're really big, cute, squishy button nose. Now I could go on and tell you about these animals for hours, but I won't do that today. But if you guys do want to learn more about them, follow me at David Attenborough on Twitter and hope you have a great night. Thanks for having me on Ali.
Take care.
Okay, real quick, I looked up this button nose and it looks like a big soft velvet pencil eraser on its face. I had a literal heart palpitation. It's so cute I want to kiss it. So that is Alexig and I'm making a Twitter list of all these wonderful folks. So you can just zip through and hit follow on all of them. It's going to be writ in the
show notes your timeline will improve by one million percent. Okay, onward to your new favorite math nerd and econ whiz Anna who also co founded a nonprofit, the SADI Collective, which is the first American nonprofit organization which aims to increase the representation of black women in economics and related data fields. Shoe rolls.
Hi.
My name is Anna Gifthiopoguajman.
I am a graduate of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and I majored in mathematics and minored in economics.
I study economics.
It's not an ology per se, but it's a really important discipline that makes important decisions about our world in a lot of different spaces. So economists sit and government and industry and academia and even in like different places in the natural sciences, a lot of people inform sort of budgets around scientific funding and that sort of thing. In terms of where to follow me, I'm on Twitter at its Acronomics and Instagram at Anna.
Gifty a n n A gift y Oh thanks.
Side note, Anna just finished a research fellowship at Harvard No big deal and an appointment at the National Bureau of Economic Research, and came up with the idea of Blackbirders Week. I am wearing clean pants today. That's about it. Anna moderated a Black Birder's Week Facebook panel and she brings an energy to her public speaking and moderating that is like a true talent. So if you need someone to host something about math or econ or stem, track
down Anna. Now, this next new friend you may already know of is an amazing host instant follow. You heard her in the intro and I have been wanting to make it to Atlanta to interview her for ages, but I may have to settle on a remote interview once her field season is over. I cannot wait.
Hi.
My name is Karina Newsom and I am a graduate biology student at Georgia Southern University and I study avian ecology and I focus specifically on a species called the seaside sparrow. Now, one weird fact about the seaside sparrow is that they are really well adapted to life in a salt marsh. And they are so well adapted, in fact,
that they can drink salt water without ever getting sick. Now, one reason why I love what I do is because I get to look very very closely at the natural world, more than I ever have in my life, and I get to share it with whoever will listen. It brings me such joy to share my fascination with the natural world with as many people as possible. If you're interested in following me, you can find me on Twitter at
Hood Underscore Naturalist or Instagram at Hood Underscore Underscore Naturalist. Now, for those of you listening, one way that you can be an ally to black people in STEM is by not silencing or asking us to censor our lived experiences brushing it off as getting too political, because it's our reality and it's one that intersects very deeply with our lived experiences as students and professionals in STEM.
So listen to experiences. Use what privilege you have to stand up to racism when you see it. Karina aka Hood Naturalist is amazing. Okay, let's hear more about birdiees Hi alien Ologists.
My name is Manni Pepkin and I am a first year PhD student at Cornell University and I study stress. I'm listening, so stressology. There's not a real word for that yet, and I'm not quite sure why. Anyway, I like to spend my time thinking about why some animals are better able to do well in stressful environments and others not able to do so, and also within the same species. So if we're looking at two twice swallows and they're in a noisy environment, why is one able
to do better in that environment than others? Is there some type of behavioral difference. Can one change how they're singing and be heard in noise better than the other and avoid that negative side effect? Or maybe one bird is that are able to calm itself down and doesn't have any of those like other physiological or body physical responses to being stressed. Or maybe there's a personality difference and one type can just cope better than the other.
I feel seen and embarrassed.
It's really exciting because I can look at a single animal at a time point and ask all these questions about why is this thing happening to this individual right now, and are others able to do it? And how rare or common is that in a population? And it's super exciting because basically I kind of get to see the
resiliency of nature. All these animals are able to do this thing and persist despite being really stressful and really hard, and I don't know, I see it as really helpful and inspiring instead of a fun fact on this year. A quick fun story. Back when I was still studying how noisy environments would stress birds and how birchwood changed with behavior in them, I was auditioning for a choir and I would just tell people I studied bird songs
to make it simple. But after I told all the judges that, they then all singing different bird songs at me and ask me to help them try to identify the birds they always hear in their life and just do not have any idea what they are. And I did it. It was really fun. I also made the choir, which also an added bonus, so very exciting. Anyway, if you're interested in following me, you can follow me at Monique Pipkin on Twitter. That's spelled m O n I q U E p I p A I N great. Thanks, bye guys.
If you ever run into Monique, ask her a favorite bird song and thank her for unraveling why some of us crumble under stress while others just keep whistling along in life. Okay, let's hear more about birds. Hello.
My name is Amelia Demri and I am a PhD candidate at Cornell University. I study ornithology. Specifically, I look at the genetics of beak color plasticity in birds. One weird fun fact about my work is that, whereas most ornithologists are perceived as having these like romantic you know, treks through nature and looking at birds, I am that weird, mad scientist student that actually doesn't get a lot of
exposure to sunlight and does experiments on the birds. But I love what I do because I'm discovering new things every day, I'm finding unique challenges, and most importantly, I get to share it with people who may not always understand why what I do so interesting and why can connect different aspects of our community. People can follow me on Twitter at ac Demery. A way that listeners can be allies to black people in STEM is pretty straightforward.
It's all about educating yourself and being self aware about how we all have been part of the problem, but we also can be part of this solution and using the resources that are available that extend beyond just your black friend to look at all the different ways that the black community has strived to educate our society on how to be effective allies, how to give back, how to show support in a very healthy way. I love this initiative. I am proud to be black in stem AF.
Thank you. So this means, don't just pepper your black friends or acquaintances or co workers with texts and dms, tossing white guilt on them. That doesn't help. There are a lot of really heavy emotions and a lot of trauma to process, and our black friends do not need the extra labor of dabbing away our white tears. Rather fellow white people. Here's some recommended reading. Ibram x Kendy in twenty nineteen published the book How to Be an
Anti Racist. That is next on my reading list. Very excited. Also, another great resource is an article from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Links to those we'll be up at alleyword dot com, slash ologies, slash Black af and stem Now onward to another Ward.
Hello everyone, my name is Jeffrey Ward, and I'm a birder studying ornithology. Birding is so therapeutic. All you really need are pale binoculars and preferably a green space. Birds are everywhere. It's really an easy way to get out into the fresh air and be in touch with nature and learn. I've learned so much about the other aspects of nature through birding, like what trees certain birds prefer, or what insects certain birds like to eat. All in all,
birds are truly amazing. Everything from the colors to the songs is just so easy to get lost in nature while outstudying birds. Okay, let me not keep you guys here for too long. For more bird content, follow me on Twitter at Jeffrey m Ward or on Instagram at underscore Jeffrey m Ward.
Hi everyone, my name is Cassandra Ford and I'm a PhD candidate at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. I study fish, which is a study called ichthyology, but more specifically, I look at electric fish. Something crazy interesting about these fish is their incredible diversity of headshape. There are fish with snouts that even look like elephant trunks. I love studying fish because there are so many questions that haven't been asked, much less answered. There's always something new to
look at. I'm on Twitter and Instagram at casts the fish kass t e fi sh and I'd also like to add to our listeners that fantastic allies to people of color work hard to amplify those voices instead of only listening to their own. Thanks for having me, Cassie.
You get extra points for being the first person to email me your sound file just boom. Your promptness is an inspiration to me personally, So let's keep this fish school a swimming along.
Hey everyone, my name is Alexis Roberts. I'm a four theraphd candidate at the University of California Davis. I study macroevolution and functional morphology in fishes, and those are a lot of big words, but basically what that means is that I relate shape and form of a fish's body or parts of a fish's body, to its functions such as locomotion or its movement, and also its feeding patterns.
I'm specifically interested in the anatomy of fish feeding structures or fish mouths, and other morphological traits that they use to feed on different prey items, and specifically I am interested in how those structures and those traits have evolved in some major ways over really large time periods. So one trait that I'm particularly interested in is the pharyngeal
jaw structure. And this is a second set of jaws that most fishes have and that they use to process prey similar to how we process food with our teeth. So fish have an oral jaw structure or the system that they use to capture prey items, and then they use their pharyngeal jaws to process those prey items for further digestion.
It is super super.
Cool and I just love studying it. And one of the reasons that I love what I do is because there's always always something new to discover or observe when you're studying the natural world. There are nearly thirty five thousand fish species lipping in really different habitats all over the Earth, so you can only imagine how much diversity there is in form and function in the fishes of
the world. Anyway, to keep hearing more about my research and some nerdy fish facts, you can follow me on Twitter at at Alexis s Underscore Simone hope to see you.
There.
Two sets of jaws, two sets, one to bite and one to chew. Who knew that Alexis that's who. Okay, this next ologist one, mister Troutman. He's got to study fish, right, go ahead.
Hey y'all, I'm Alice Troutman. Yes, my name is trout like the fish and man, and I'm a wildlife worker. Currently I am a grad student studying wetland ecology. When I'm not in school, i'm a seasonal wildlife worker for several federal agencies. During my off season from my federal job, i am an endangered species of observer or ESO on dredging ships. A dredging ship is a ship that goes out after hurricanes and digs up sand and throws back
on the beach attorney. That's called beach renourishment. Or they also can go out and deepen and widen shipping channels.
So my role as an ESO on those ships are to make sure when we're not coming to close proximity or contact with marine mammals like wells and man and t's and also I make sure that we are not digging up any sea turtles and surgeon and I do that by checking the teds or the turtle exclusion device to make sure that the chains are all in order to exclude any turtles or surgeons from being dug up with the sand.
So we heard a little bit about this in Pelchnology with Juweta essentially putting land back and renewing habitat loss by climate change and in this case hurricanes. So when they're dredging up all that sand, there is Al Troutman making sure that sturgeon and sea turtles and other endangered species are safe. What a dude. I want to hang out Troutman.
When I'm not working. I love being in outdoors. I love fishing, hiking, camping, wildlife photography and birding. Also during my downtime, I enjoy eating food, especially baking and making pizza. You guys can follow me at nature ol so that's nature Unin squorel on Instagram and Twitter and once again that's nature ol so it's in the number A t u R underscore al So Nature underscorel get.
It, Nature al get it. Okay, So follow him on Instagram and Twitter if you want your feed to have more gorgeous wildlife photos and videos of baby turtles akac turtles. And he also just has an absolutely infectious smile. I love his posts so much. And his name is Troutman. I mean come on the best. Okay, let's stay in Turtleville a minute, shall we.
I'm my name is Armand Can. I'm a wildlife biologist, more specifically a herpetologist, and that just means that I study mostly amphibians and reptiles. You recently graduate from Leola University, Chicago and recently defended my massive thesis this past April. And that thesis, it was on Blanding's turtles, which is an endangered species internationally as well as at state level
for many different states in the Ules. And what I was looking at was a conservation program for the species called head starting, where they would take these individuals, the release the eggs, raise them indoors and captivity for one to two years of ASI, and then release them into the wild. And my graduate work focused on the after effects.
I was looking at blood physiology as well as spatial ecology because I wanted to see being raised in captivity have an effect such as a habituation effect on how much space they're using or their responses to their physiology according to environmental differences. But a weird fact about my work. I can't really think of a weird fact about my work, but there is a weird fact about one of the species that I've encountered, which is a painted turtle. This
is another semi aquatic turtle species. It lives in the United States and Canada. But this species, when it gets to winter, a lot of times there's permanent ice essentially on top of the water where they're overwintering.
A little chili out here.
The ice doesn't melt, and they don't have any access to air to breathe through their mouth and nostrils, so they actually have this unique adaptation of kloakal respiration, which is essentially them breathing through their butts, the kloaca being one opening for both your digestive system and reproductive system. So I think that's pretty funny, cool and interesting. I remember telling my class about that, and they definitely did not find it as humorous as most ecologists would I think.
I mean, you know me, I loved it.
Why I love what I do. I love the fact that I get to learn about so many different taxa locally and globally. I love learning about the interconnectiveness between all of those things, including humans. A lot of times, ecology I equate to building a puzzle with each study, no matter where it is. We're on a global ecosystem. It's all interconnected, and we just keep building and building upon that as our understanding increases, and I think that
being involved with that is really cool. But if you're interested in following me, you can give me a follow on my Instagram or tenitor at Devonian one. So that's d v N I A N Underscore one. Thank you all. I hope you all have a good day, turtles.
Let's keep it up.
How do everyone? My name is Sidney Woodruff and I am a black gender queer PhD student at the University of California at Davis. I personally study herpetology and conservation ecology, and for my research that means native reptile and amphibian conservation and sort of researching ways to sustain those species
and changing environments. My own work is primarily done in Yusemity National Park with the National Park Service, and through that I hope to really bridge, you know, the gap between theoretical and applied science and management so that we can make the best decisions going forward. So my own work focuses on a California native turtle species called the western pond turtle that is state protected and has been petitioned to be federally protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Something pretty cool about the species, but is also seen and some other turtles in the same family, is that when the male turtles want to impress a female turtle for mating, the males will actually swim in front of the female and kind of like flitter their front claws right onto her face, kind of like a look at my beautiful, healthy nails. You know, are you impressed? If you're fortunate enough to see it in person, it's really cute.
So it always kind of makes me think, you know, like we have these lame, huge gender norms that don't exist in the turtle world, which is exciting. First and foremost. I want to say that I love what I do in science because it allows me to work and you know these quote unquote wild spaces, but I do have to remember that, you know, I'm not always welcome in these places because of the color.
Of my skin.
Many people and even academics will say that we don't need to talk about gender and race and politics in science or outdoor recreation, but as we saw with Christian Cooper in Central Park, that is not the case at all. So I personally want to continue addressing and dismantling those barriers to science so that everyone has the opportunity to do what I do and feel welcomed in whatever space
they want to occupy. Secondly, I also want to take the opportunity to bring wildlife knowledge to collective spaces and collect with the public about the work that we're doing as managers on our shared public land. You know, we have to remember that we all own these public lands in the US, and your voice matters and can directly affect the decisions being made. So if you're not fortunate enough, you know, to grow up with family owned land and
safe places to recreate. Our national parks and other public lands should be there for you to explore. So if you'd like to hear more about that or hear other random turtle mating facts, follow me on Twitter at Woodruff Sydney and that's Sydney with an ie, or on Instagram at Sydney Woodruff, which is the opposite. So take care everyone, and thank you Ali for providing this platform and making the space for us.
From turtles to other fascinating reptiles.
Hi, my name is Carl get In. The second I am a third year master's student at Howard University. I study herpetology, ethology, and ecology. I primarily work with crocodilians, but I'm doing my master's research on lizard behavior. I have love acadians since I was a little kid. When I was about five or six years old, I got a book called The Amazing Animals of the World, and it had a chapter on crocadians and dinosaurs, and it
was my favorite chapter. I used to read that chapter pretty much every night, and I've loved crocadians ever since. And when I took a herpetology class in undergrad I knew that that was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. You can follow me on social media at Afrosukia on Twitter and Instagram. That's Afro
s u c Chia. I posted a lot about my research and my travel, mostly doing croc stuff, but also doing all kinds of other heart stuff and outreaches from when I worked at an aquarium and just all kinds of other stuff.
You like crocs, You're gonna love carl.
I think one of the best ways that people can be allies to black people in STEM is creating a safe space for us in the field. Generally speaking, black people in stem are the only they're the only ones there or one of only a few people there, and so just making this making the space feel like they belong there is a great way to be an ally for black people instead.
Thank you very much, lizards. Let's keep at it with this next amazing herper Hi, my name is Chelsea Connor.
I am a herpetologist and artist and I'm from the Commonwealth of Dominica and the Caribbean. I study anoles. I'm not sure if there's anology for that. Maybe analogy.
I don't know. You can find out, Okay.
I look this up and all I found were analogies about lizards. But I think we can make anology.
I think right now I'm studying the dietary niche overlap in the native and invasive species of a knoll on my island. One really fun weird fact about my work is the part where you had to sometimes squeeze the vehicle sample out of the lizard. This does not harm them at all. They're fine, except maybe their pride and dignity when you squeeze the poop ride out of them. I love studying and ols because there's so much diversity
and variation within species. They're beautiful lizards, there's such a wide color and pattern range, and there's so much to learn. If you think you know everything, there's still more questions that are unanswered. And I love learning. I love learning, and I love sharing knowledge. The sharing knowledge part is why I started hashtag did you annull? And every week
I pick and a knoll. Sometimes I have someone who's working on that and know who's studying that at all helped me with the facts that I share with people so more people are aware of these lizards. You can follow me on Twitter and check out that hashtag at Chelsea Herbs, and you can also catch you on Instagram
at out to Chelsea. Just a addition here, if you'd like to be an ally to black people and STEM, it is very, very important that you listen sometimes what's happening, what's wrong is not always a glaring, obvious thing, a glaring statement. There are microaggressions, and if you look that up, you'll get lots of examples, and those are just as
harmful as straight up racist statements. Listen and remember to create spaces for the people who would not normally have the same opportunity that you do that is also really vital.
Thank you so much.
So follow Chelsea and enjoy the hashtag did you annul? And in case you haven't heard, by the way of a microaggression, it is not something that your esthetician performs on your face. These are little comments, sometimes disguised or even well meaning as compliments, that, according to psychologists, communicate derogatory or negative or even hostile messages or assumptions about race to the receiver, and people of color deal with
them all the time. And if you hear something like this, doctor DARYLD Wing Sue, a psychologist who studies racism, suggests a micro intervention. Essentially, if you hear someone doing this
to someone else, let them know not cool. And also, if you'd like a better look at what black academics face and a lot of examples of what a microaggression can look like, you can check out the hashtag black in the Ivory like being black in the Ivory Tower or follow at black in the Ivory and it is a place for academics to share what they've gone through and for non black folks to really learn about microaggressions or sometimes mega aggressions. Now if you want to be
an ally and you hear microaggressions, help stop them. If you have said things that you later realize or are told our microaggressions, understand how comments land, and pledge to do better. It really matters. Also, let's move on from the indignities of pooping lizards to kissing Hello.
My name is Kaylee Arnold. I am a PhD student at the University of Georgia and I am a disease ecologist. Disease ecology is broadly the study of how the environment influences the spread of diseases. For my PhD work, I study the gut bacteria or microbiome of kissing bugs that spread chaugust disease to better understand how they transmit this disease. Chagas disease affects millions of people throughout the Americas, especially in Latin America, and I conduct my research in Panama.
One interesting fact is that, unlike mosquitoes, kissing bugs spread the chaggest disease parasite through their feces. So you first have to be pooped on by this little insect, and then their feces has to get into your blood stream free to contract Shawgis. Another quick fact is that they get the name kissing bug because they tend to bite humans and animals near their mouths and eyes.
Sorry, that was a real misdirect there, Okay, Kaylee continues.
In addition to disease ecology, I have led my departments K through twelve science outreach program for the last several years. As one of the few black scientists in my field, it's important for me to bring environmental science education to local black families and other marginalized communities in my area.
In terms of what true allies can do to help out the Black STEM community, the easiest thing to do is just listen to us, ask us what we need, how you can help, put money down, don't just tweet, And most importantly, protect your black colleagues, students, friends, strangers, etc. On all friends. Just because you feel safe in a certain situation or area does not mean we do too.
You can find me on Twitter at Black Underscore Ecologist, and you can follow my outreach group at eco reach UGA on both Twitter and Instagram.
Oh you know, I love bug facts.
Hi.
My name is Fallen Morey Gilmour. I'm a PhD candidate in entomology at Penn State University, and myology is medical entomology. Medical entomology is the study of insects and arthropods that have public health importance. So that includes our ticks, our kissing bugs, our bedbugs, and most known are mosquitoes, which I study. Did you know that mosquito is Spanish for little fly? The word reportedly originated in the early sixteenth century in Africa, New Zealand and Australia. Mosquitos are often
called mazi's. And on that note, you can follow me on Twitter at Mozzi Foul.
Follow Mazzi Foul for more awesome and very mind boggling medical en top facts. And hey, people of planet Earth's northern hemisphere, it's tick season, so you might want to go back and listen to the Disease Ecology and Acroology episodes from last Spring and Bonus. Both are with amazing women of color. Now they think about it, so yes, check those crevices. Okay, more bucks. Hi.
My name is Tyler. I'm a budding science communicator in honeybee nutritionally collegist. Did you know that when bees forge for pollen but don't actually pollinate, it's called consumptive emasculation. You can follow me on Twitter at at moliferosity.
Bye.
Hi, my name is Dakota Lane and I'm an environmental science major at Loyola University Chicago interested in invertebrate ecology and marine ecology. I don't have any current projects, but some of my past research has looked at the escape mechanics and crayfish and the difference in neuron firing patterns. So when crayfish, which are essentially a small lobster, they're about three inches long, when they meet a potential predator,
they'll flick their tails backwards and propel themselves backwards. I'm Audi, and I really want to see the difference in neuron firing patterns when they meet a predator and are trying to get away from something that escape mechanic versus when they are just swimming and not stimulated by anything. And I also looked at the potential of natural compounds influencing
neuron firing. So kiate, which is a well known neural toxin, interrupts the communication between nerve cells and muscle cells, and I was really interested in not that communication, but how the actual neuron fired and the neuron firing patterns when that neural toxin was introduced. I think what's most fulfilling about what I do and what I enjoy most is
simply learning. Whenever you're on any research project, you're always learning something new, and I love being able to share that with you know, other people, especially kids, because they get excited about everything, even the smallest details. But it's that my discoveries can possibly help further life saving. You know, research studies or my studies can themselves be life changing. And that's what I do love about science. You know
that science has the power to change lives. The simplest of curiosities of really looking at the world in a different light and saying, huh, I wonder how that works. You can potentially save and change lives. You can follow me on Twitter at delany, which is spelled d e l A n e I. I thank you so much.
Science changes lives all of ours and yours too when it's your passion and you follow it. Now. In asking for these sound clips, I wanted to give an immediate platform to all these people that I admire, and I told them that if anyone wanted to include something that they think allies should know or do, a lot of listeners would be really grateful for that, but they definitely did not have to address that or do that labor.
Now in editing, I realized what I didn't do is ask what messages they would have for other folks who are black and stem. Now that is me, with the best of intentions, still working from my place of privilege, and asking them for their time and insight to inform white people how to act, not asking them for lessons to fellow black scientists. So let that be a lesson to all of us that being anti racist and being an ally, no matter how well intentioned, you're probably going
to fall short sometimes. Just in editing this yesterday I smacked myself literally on the forehead. We all like science, and science often involves some humbling failures, and being anti racist is a process of learning and understanding, and we will never move forward if you don't take a risk by using your voice and your privilege. It's kind of like cooking. You got one pan going and then you
realize that you burned another pan. But guess what, the more you cook, the better you're going to get at it. No reason to throw in the towel. But I really want to add that advice from people who are Black AF and STEM to others. And so Black AF and STEM did some really great q and as over the last week, and I want to read you a few from their Twitter sessions. So someone asked any advice on
how to connect new burders with mentors. Brianna Amigua, who is a horse lover and a naturalist who goes by ranger bris on Twitter and Instagram, said, depending on the age with kids, expose them to people who bird already, build community, teach them local birds, tap online to the Black AF and STEM hashtag and community tap into local networks. Again, that was from at ranger Bris and another question they got was what advice do you have for younger black
students as they enter predominantly white spaces? And J Drew Lanham, a Birder and Wildlife of collegist whose handle is one black Burder, said, sometimes you're going to be the first. Don't shy away from that. You have to be comfortable in your own skin. You may face barriers from people who don't look like you, and some who do. Someone may try to take your black cards because you're doing
something they don't think you should, he says. Now Finding a mentor is also something that's greatly encouraged, and being a mentor is too. Some other resources to hear more Black Voices and STEM are podcasts, of course, PHDVAS, Dope Labs, sip Inside all have black hosts. Thermophysiology episode guest doctor Shane Campbell Staton's podcast The Biology of Superheroes is incredible. There's also Onward for Wildlife, which is hosted by another
great Blackbirds Week organizer, Tykee. James. Take is the Government Affars Coordinator at the National autobonn Society NICE and his podcast Onward for Wildlife features political interviews and discussions on wildlife conservation. So you can find Onward for Wildlife on Twitter at Onward four the number four Wildlife, and Tikei is on Twitter at Taikei Underscore James. Now, stay tuned. In a minute or so, we will jump back into
more stories from amazing scientists. But first a few words from the sponsors of the show, who make it possible each week for us to make a donation to a charity of the ologists choosing, and usually we do a portion of the proceeds, but this week we're digging deeper. We're sending a flat five thousand dollars from Ologies to black af and Stem as an honorarium for educating us all with this episode and as a thank you for
the incredible work that they do year round. I'm looking forward to continuing to contribute as a year goes on to some more grant projects. I'm working on hatching with some previous Ologies guests too, so stay tuned for that. So this five thousand dollars donation was also made possible by all the supporters at patreon dot com slash Ologies who let me have a little wiggle room with budgets, and of course that donation was also made possible by
sponsors of the show. You may hear about now get value.
You can't argue with aunt Tesco with their amazing club card prices. Have the perfect night in with their finest frozen pizza meal deal. Get a finest frozen pizza, chips and ice cream all for six to zuo like our delicious spicy salami, hot honey and do you or Margarito wood fired pizzas served up with their crispy chunkie chips and ice cream like cecil de Caramo or Pistachio for dessert.
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Okay, let's meet some more scientists who are black, af and stem.
Hello everyone, and thank you Ali for allowing me to be a part of your amazing podcast. My name is Jasmine Childress. I am a PhD Student in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Who it's a mouthful.
My work falls into the fields of parasitology, which is the study of parasites, ecology, and conservation biology. My dissertation work has taken me to the Channel Islands National Park, which is located just off the coast of the southern California Fighte. Currently, I am working with the once endangered San Miguel Island fox and a newly found parasite that has negatively impacted the survival and reproduction of the fox population recently. These parasites are known as akantusphalins and are
commonly referred to as thorny headed work. I think a cool fact about how they got their name. It's because individuals have an attachment organ that's completely covered in hooks, which is used to anchor into host tissue. No thanks, the foxes, while they're no longer endangered, are still very
vulnerable to extinction due to parasitic infections. So I work in partnership with the USGS and biologists at the Channel Islands National Park to determine how infections are spread between foxes and ultimately to develop a new management plan where we can hopefully prevent the extinction or the threat of extinction to these foxes once more. I love doing what I do because I can take part in research with tangible end goals like developing a species management plan, while
enjoying both outdoor field work and indoor lab work. I also love introducing undergraduates and young people to the ecology of parasites. I find it very enjoyable to engage others about my parasite ecology projects because we all inherently have a sort of visceral initial reaction when we think about when we think about parasites.
Now doctors call this very reaction to parasites the creepy crawley heck nos.
I frequently post on social media about my research as well as the experiences of other black people in nature and stim fields. I think this is an awesome chance that I have to enhance visibility for those who look like me and shed light on some pretty awesome research at the same time. If you're interested in following me for parasite photos, field work fails, or learning more about people of color and stin, you can reach me on Twitter and Instagram with a handle at underscore Jay Childress.
And for those who are looking for ways to foster allyship, using your platforms to share photos, posts and research of black people in stin is very helpful. Ali, I want to thank you today for sharing your platform with me. I'm very grateful for this space to geek out a little bit about my work and also shed light online and others' experiences in STEM.
Thank you, Thank you. There's nothing that I love more. Okay, speaking of communicating science, here's Ashley aka the Wildlife Host.
Hey, I'm actually Gary and I'm a science communicator. So I studied environmental science in grad school and after taking a course in environmental communications, oh.
My gosh, I was hooked.
Science communication is basically the art of taking a confusion out of science and making it accessible to others, which is essentially what Ali does with this podcast. So I believe that science belongs to everyone, so I try to make it open and welcoming for folks, and you know, especially people who are less familiar with it.
And the weirdest part about.
Being a science communicator is really that, you know, I created this opportunity out of than air. I just decided that I wanted to talk with people about wildlife and I just started. I just started one day, and I love sharing the wide range of diversity of life. People get so excited see all the different species, and I love that energy. It's just amazing. So if you're interested, you can follow me on Instagram and Twitter at the Wildlife Host. I share really amazing wildlife photos and facts
from all around the world. And thank you Ali for using your platform to amplify black voices and listeners. You can be an ally by supporting black lit initiatives and supporting black businesses.
Thank you so much. Everyone.
Greetings. My name is Joseph Saunders. I am a professional wildlife photographer. I focus on the areas of herpetology and entomology. I have loved reptiles all of my life. My love of insects and other invertebrates came quite a bit later. I'm especially obsessed with jumping spiders. Not a weird fact, but I think an important fact about me is that I have been permanently disabled since birth. I'm a paraplegic
and I use a wheelchair full time. I have yet to meet more than maybe two or three other people with an injury like mine who are also naturalists. This is a really good opportunity for BBC, not GEO. If you guys are listening, y'all don't have any representation for disabled people amongst your photographers. You can find my content on Twitter. You can reach me at JD. Monroe two one zero. It's capital J D M lowercase O N
R O E two one zero. I'm also on Instagram at Reels on Wheels r E E l S O n W H E E l S. I think an important aspect for people who wish to be allies of Black, Indigenous and POC in STEM is to be in tolerance of discrimination entirely institute within your organization's a zero tolerance policy. This would have to include academics, your hobbyist groups that support the academics, and where professional environments as well.
Joseph Sunder's photography is bananas. I gasped when I saw it.
I like.
So many gorgeous macrophotos of jumping spiders and bugs and lizards and frogs. Just takes your breath away as I record this. Joseph has eight hundred and ninety two followers on Instagram. He should have like at least one hundred thousand. If you are listening and on Instagram, follow Reels on Wheels.
I will also link on my website again Joseph Saunders Reels on Wheels on Instagram if he does not have twenty thousand followers on Instagram by Monday, I'm striking and I'm never putting up another Ologies episode, So don't make me take a vacation at a spite. Folks Instagram dot com Reels on Wheels do not piss off to adword here, kiddos, I will turn this car around.
Hi. My name is Dajah Perkins and I'm a graduate student at North Carolina State University studying fisheries and wildlife conservation. Bio my ology is urban ecology. I consider myself in urban ecolleges because I focus on urban birds and how they are influenced by human culture. My research takes a look at the methods behind two popular citizens and science informed data sets eBird checklists and systematic point counts. eBird is a popular app used by birds to record bird
observations all over the world. Systematic point counts, on the other hand, are a more structured way of collecting data. They consist of five to ten minute surveys at specific joke tag locations across a gridded area and are submitted by a coordinated team of technicians or volunteers. These data sets are commonly used to inform research, policy, and management decisions.
My research aims to determine if these two methods are able to equally detect the human influences that shape cities and as a result, influence the spaces that birds occupy within the cities.
Where are those birds though not equally distributed as it turns out.
I use GIS or geographic information systems to look at where birds are reported, especially within urban areas, to determine if there are any blind spots and where birds are reported and if they reflect patterns of social inequity. Social inequity in cities can be displayed through lasting legacies such as street cover, which are a reflection of historical patterns of inequity resulting from systematic forces such as segregation and racism, which have shown to have lasting effects on how cities
function economically and ecologically. These legacies influence the distribution of bird diversity and abundance of native species within cities. I love studying urban birds because it emphasizes that urban areas are used by more than just people, and more importantly, that we're all connected. You don't have to live in rural areas to experience nature, and I want to ensure that cities are properly managed for both people and wildlife, with equitable spaces that benefit us all.
So think about that next time you're in a city. The more privilege you have, the better neighborhoo you might live in, the more trees out your window, and the more birds you get to see. It's not fair. Let's change that. So how wonderful that people are studying these things. Urban ecology, It's a thing. I'm into it.
Hi, my name is Jason Windsor, and I'm a student at the University of Arizona studying biology and africana studies. Officially, My work focuses on plant and insect interactions, as well as a bit of urban ecology. My recent projects so focused on agriculture and right perian habitats, but recently I've started studying citizen science using a naturalists you butterfly, a bit of art, and a lot of coffee flavored ice cream. I'm working a sea of zoos and botanical gardens operate
as productive green spaces. I also do a bit of science communication on the side. I got my start in science pulling ladybugs out of my grandfather's yard, and now I introduce people to insects in their own backyard. I know most people think insects are gross and creepy and mean, but that's what I love about the work that I do. Once you find yourself squatting on a trail watching a beetle cross in front of you, most people will come and ask you what you're doing, or they'll walk away
in fear. But on the rare occasion that they become interested, you started a conversation.
You've found a new scientist.
You've made someone brave, and I love seeing that developing people, especially adults who will never touch a bug in their lives where kids will touch just about anything, especially when it comes to butterflies. Butterflies are a great way to spoon feed the loveliness that is arthropod's to people. Insects can be fun and friendly and taste with their feet. So if you are at all interested in learning about insects or urban ecology, come find me and spicy undersquare chicken.
That's chicken without the second sea. See you soon.
Okay, let's continue on this city critters track. There's a new word alert anthropogenic, resulting from humans.
Hello.
My name is Lauren Farr and I am a current graduate student pursuing my masters at North Carolina State University in Fisheries, Wildlife and conservation biology.
I am a.
Wildlife biologist who specializes in ornithology, or the study of birds. I'm currently researching how urbanization affects avian morphology. With the growing number of people rising in urban areas every day, anthropogenic or human factors affect all kinds of inhabiting wildlife. Urbanization has been a key thing linked to changes in avian behavior and physiology, and I am looking more into how it has affected things such as bird body mass
and other body features. Did you know that urbanization can also affect arthropods or bugs, which in turn can have an effect on a bird's overall development. Since most chicks rely on an arthropod diet, with a limited amount of arthropods and urban areas, this can lead to affect a chick's growth rate, nutrition, and overall health. I absolutely love to do what I do because I absolutely just love birds.
I get to be hands on with these awesome creatures, and what better way to learn than to be hands on? What can I say? I'm just your average bird NERD thought this was interesting. Well, you can learn more about me and my research by following me on Twitter and Instagram at LDFAR that's l d pha r R, or visit my website at www dot LFAR dot com. One way that listeners can be allies to black people in
STEM is awareness. Valeria Kudakova, author of the article how to be a Best Ally in STEM, states that constantly learning and educating yourself is also crucial for developing a fuller understanding of the experiences of marginalized groups and hints being a better ally.
Thank you, Lauren, you are great and I will link that article on my site now. This next one is birds and Bats and Cities. How's all.
Hi. My name is Elosi to Carpenter, and I'm an urban ecologist and naturalist educator. I completed my PhD last year studying the urban backcommunity in Baltimore, Maryland, where I wanted to determine if and why bats might use vacant lots. And vacant lots are small patches of vegetation that form
after a house has been removed from a lot. Currently, I'm analyzing about fifteen years worth of bird surveys also done here in Baltimore to see how the city's bird community has changed over time than if there are certain
natural and human based reasons for those changes. Over the past seven years of doing research here, my colleagues and I have documented at least one hundred bird species in Baltimore and about six species of bats, which is half of the bat species present in the state of Maryland. I've lived in Baltimore most of my life and never expected to stay here and study wildlife. I always want it to be somewhere out in the wilderness. But what I really love about urban ecology is that it's full
of surprises. Despite all the people living in urban areas. There have been many cool discoveries made about how wildlife are using and navigating the city in our backyards and neighborhoods. And because it's urban ecology, we have to include human measures in our studies as well, things like our upbringing and culture, our neighborhood structure, the income we and our neighbors make, and even events from the past like apartheid or redlining can play a role in what plants and
animals exist around us today. My Twitter account is Cherokee Cita and my Instagram account is Elasita.
And now from Bats to Medicine from Stephanie, who I had the pleasure of meeting at last year's psychon camp. She dules out some stats.
Hi, I'm Stephanie Renee, an undergraduate neuroscience major, breast cancer researcher, and dog mom. So statistics show that in twenty fifteen, of all the women who were granted a bachelor's degree in neuroscience, only five percent were black. Even fewer were granted to those at masters or PhD levels. And that's something that I want to change because we do deserve to take up space. There's a lot that goes into barriers to education for underrepresented populations. But it's the small thing.
Psychology is giving us a platform to sh stories that makes Blackensteon voices heard and not just an afterthought. So thanks for that.
Ali.
You can find me on the interwebs on Twitter and Instagram at osmosis Reeds and.
I yeah by follow her as well. I love learning from her. And another great sycommer is Ashley doc Sippins.
Hey, Ali, my name is Ashley.
I'm a biophysicist podcaster, and I study basically how proteins get inside the mitochondria and what else are happening with those proteins that regulate how proteins can get inside. One weird fact about my work is that ninety percent or so of the mitochondria's proteins are actually not even made in the mitochondria, even though they have their own DNA
as well as their own protein making machinery. I love what I do because I think it's always fascinating to visualize really tiny things, right, you know, I think about proteins all the time, but the fact that I have the ability to actually figure out what proteins look like and how they work is something that I find fascinating and always have.
You can follow me.
On all social media at sip, inside pod, sip nscipod. And one way that people can really be allies to black people in STEM is remembering that we're not just scientists, and we still have to move and operate with the weight of the world around us, as we're constantly, constantly getting messages that we are not good enough and we don't belong. And so go out of your way and make someone feel a little bit more comfortable and at home.
And I think that's one of the biggest ways you can be an ally. Thanks again, Ali.
So this next voice belongs to a wonderful wildlife biologist whose Twitter name is Richard Sissel, and I was like, what turns out that is an ornithology joke that I did not comprehend until seeing someone tweet about a bird called a dick sizzle. I already love this person.
Hi.
I'm Danielle Bellanie, a passionate birder naturalist and wildlife biologist. I love, love, love studying ecology. I'm getting paid to be curious, take a look at how and why natural systems functions and help heal the planet. I'm so glad to have other black scientists in this space with me, and honestly, I'm living my best life. A fun fact about my most recent work, I had to learn how to herd and care for one hundred and seventy goats.
The goats were helping us restore native grasslands by grazing the encroaching shrubs and well, one hundred and seventy goats. They cause a lot of mischief, plenty of stories there. You can follow me on Instagram and Twitter at Bell's is Birding. That's b e lll z Bells is Birding.
One way for listeners, especially white listeners, to be allies to black people in STEM is to pass on the opportunities to collaborate with well known organizations or big grants or well known people by referring black people and people of color who do some more work to them.
Thanks.
Oh and also just chill out when you're talking to us at a conference.
I mean a delight. So she is based in Central Texas and again is a wildlife biologist. Professionally, she's worked with all kinds of species, and she happens to be looking for new work right now. She is willing to relocate anywhere in and out of the US. So, if you are listening to this and need a wildlife biologist on staff, hire a fellow ologite, Danielle Bellamy again Bell's
with a z is Birding. She will be in the Twitter list that I will link in the show notes, and I will add a way to contact her to my website if she so chooses. Now, if you have a job you need to fill and you want to make sure that it gets in front of a diverse array of scholars, you can also check out the website Diverse Sky.
And finally, Hi, my name is Tyas Williams. I am a wildlife ecologist with a specialization in carnivor ecology. I am intrigued at the intersection of utilizing spatial analysis to understand movement patterns of predators across the landscape and their crucial role that influences trophic ecologies throughout ecosystems worldwide.
Ps I had to look it up, but trophic means where an animal is on the food chain.
Essentially, carnivores are fascinating. The order Carnivora actually translates to flesh devour or meat eater. These are organisms that have specially modified teeth, which we refer to as carnascial teeth that can sheer, slice and tear through flesh with ease a lot, giving them the ability to subdue their prey without much effort at all. An interesting component to carnivores is there's about two hundred and seventy species or so.
But what's really interesting is you have all these various types of carnivores with very different types of physical features, but they're essentially divided into two categories, which we refer to as suborders under Carnivora filiforma in cana forma, and you can discern between those two as cat like features
and dog like features. A lot of people think there are certain animals that are more closely related to one another, but sometimes there's some misconceptions around them, like, for example, mongoose, hyena, and the fosa are all in fila forma. They are more closely related to felids than they are canis. And then you have animals like bears, raccoons, and seals that are in cana forma because they're actually more closely related
to dogs. And it's really cool because you look at all these animals and you would never guess looking at them sometimes that they could be within those categories. And I just think that's a really interesting fact that maybe a lot of people don't think about sometimes. I love carnivores not only because they are megacharismatic and they have an alluring, majestic feature that just demands your respect and attention, but they're crucial to the health of land escape in ecosystems.
We need carnivores. They influence prey item population control, and their trophy ecology cascade that they initiate and insight is necessary for the health and stability across all landscapes. If you are interested in following me, you can follow me at Science with Ties on Instagram and Twitter. And I know that things have been very turbulent right now in terms of our recent news, and I just wanted to take a moment to address that black people are under
siege right now. Sadly, we have been for a very long time historically. I just think because of media coverage and the technological advancements it's become it's been brought to
light more than ever. And in terms of the daunting whores that we're seeing across the globe and We need help, We need support, we need solidarity, we need action, and we need need mobilization, if not more than anything, when it comes to our non people of color brothers and sisters, we need people to stand up and fight for us. We need people to take action and vote correctly and
fight for our lives. We can't do this alone. We need help, and I hope that maybe through these efforts and actions, maybe we can gather a little bit more peace on this planet. Thank you so much for your time.
So that was Tias d Williams, and you can follow him at Science. With Tias, you can look forward to a future Ologies episode with him and several of the people you just heard whose jobs and lives are fascinating. It has been an honor getting to know you all better and to hear the voices behind the tweets. I just respect and admire you all so much, and thank
you for making the world a better place. Speaking on behalf of myself and the hordes of non POC allies, we are here for you and we have your back. We will fight for you until there is justice and equity for all. If you're out there hearing this and you don't see anyone in your field or in the room who looks like you. Just know that room needs you even more. You belong there even more, and that people who may not look like you are willing to stand up for you. We're getting better at it every day.
Thank you for showing us how and for letting us learn. So ask smare people stupid questions, but lay off our black friends right now, and you know, ask Google, get a book, read blogs, listen to podcasts, don't barge into anyone's DMS processing your own emotions. Now's not the time for it.
Now.
We will be back next week with a super fascinating conversation about gender and the brain. I can't wait, It's so good. Meanwhile, follow at black AF and STEM on Instagram and Twitter. They are amazing. Follow them right now, head to a link in the show notes where you can follow everyone that we have just heard from, plus
a few more awesome black voices in STEM. There will also be a PayPal link to black AF and STEM in case you want to throw a few bones their way, even if it's just the price of a coffee or a sandwich. That adds up and we all work together. All of those links will be up at Aliward dot com, slash Ologies slash blackaf in Stem. Thank you Shannon Felds and Bonnie Dutch for managing ologiesmerch dot Com. Happy tenth birthday, Little Aiden, We love you. Thank you Aaron Talbert for
managing the Ologies podcast Facebook group. Thank you to Emily White and her army of transcribers who turned these episodes around so fast for accessibility. Those as well as episodes bleeped by Caleb Patten, are all up at aliward dot com, slash Ologies dash Extras. Thank you to Noel the Worth for helping me stay on top of my schedule. I
would be literally lost without you. And thank you te Jarrett Sleeper of mind Jam Media and the Mental Health Podcast, My Goodbad Brain, who helped edit this big heap of voice files together, And to the lovely Stepnray Morris who ushered it safely into your ears with the final edits. So the theme song was written by Nick Thorburn of the band Islands, and if you listen through the credits,
I tell you secrets. This week's secret is that I was supposed to have in fizzle Line for like seven months and it's almost two years because I just forget a lot. So Hey, we're doing our best. I'm sorry, doctor Colin. I'll wear them tonight, I promise. Okay, go out, use your voice, be good to each other. Thank you for letting me learn so publicly. Okay, good bye, pacodermatology, homology, your do zoology, lithology, technology, meteorology, paratology, ethology, ceriology, selenology. Get value.
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helps available in most stories. Prices varying Express