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NCPR News Staff: Natural Selections
Stories filed by Natural Selections
One would expect coffee blossoms to give a little caffeine "buzz," but so do flowers in the citrus family. Honeybees on an orange blossom. Photo: Daniel Orth, Creative Commons, some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Flowers, bees... and caffeine
May 23, 2013 — Plants have many strategies for manipulating animals to do their bidding. Some flowers focus the attention of their pollinators with a familiar pick-me-up--caffeine. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss the natural world. Go to full article
This road in Iceland runs down the fault line where the Eurasian continental plate meet the North American continental plate. Photo: Marius Watz, Creative Commons, some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Continental Drift
Paul Smiths, NY, May 16, 2013 — The theory of continental drift--the idea that the continents are islands of rock adrift on the earth's molten core--first gained acceptance in the 1960s. Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley talk about the consequences of their extreme slow motion collisions--earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Go to full article
Spiral orb webs in a gorge in Karijini National Park, Australia. Photo: Bjorn Christian Torrissen, Creative Commons, some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Spider Webs
Paul Smiths, NY, May 09, 2013 — Spiders from big to tiny use their webs to snag and trap prey in fascinating ways. One spider even reels in tiny gnats that come to "roost" on the web. The silky constructions are wonders of engineering and construction. They're also highly specialized, spider to spider, as Martha Foley hears from Dr. Curt Stager in this week's edition of Natural Selections. Go to full article
Porcupine up a tree. Archive Photo of the Day: Judy Andrus Toporcer
Natural Selections: Porcupines
Paul Smiths, NY, May 02, 2013 — Dr. Curt Stager tells co-host Martha Foley why and how porcupines climb trees--and why it can be a dangerous job. Plus, what to do when one lives under (and gnaws on) your porch. Get up close, but not too close, to porcupines. Go to full article
Left to right: Passenger Pigeons, juvenile, male and female. Artist: Louis Agassiz Fuertes, circa 1910.
Natural Selections: Passenger Pigeons
Paul Smiths, NY, Apr 25, 2013 — Once so numerous they darkened the sky for days while migrating, passenger pigeons arrived in this region in early May each year. Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley remember this once ubiquitous species wiped out by human hunting in the nineteenth century. Go to full article
Ruby-throated Hummingbird engaging in a little pollination. Photo: Kelly Colgan Azar, CC some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Unusual pollinators
Paul Smiths, NY, Apr 18, 2013 — Everyone is familiar with how bees and insects distribute pollen from one flower to another, but that's not the only way to get the job done. Some night-blooming plants are pollinated by bats, when bright floral colors are invisible. And hummingbirds might just get their nectar without picking up any pollen. Dr. Curt Stager and Martha Foley discuss the unusual strategies some plants can use to attract and hold the interest of the unusual animals that pollinate them. Go to full article
Leaf cutter ant. Photo: Jim Webber, CC some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Leaf Cutter Ants
Paul Smiths, NY, Apr 11, 2013 — Why do Leaf Cutter Ants cut leaves? Nesting material, food? As Martha Foley and Curt Stager explain, these ants are composting. What they actually eat grows on the rotting leaves. Go to full article
"Whirligig" water beetles. Photo: Zen Sutherland, CC some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Whirligig Beetles
Paul Smiths, NY, Apr 04, 2013 — Watching whirligig water beetles, found in circling clumps on the surface of calm fresh water, is a favorite childhood activity of many, including one-time child Martha Foley. Dr. Curt Stager explains the method behind their madcap collective behavior. (Note: Dr. William Romey teaches at SUNY Potsdam.) Go to full article
Bunchberry flower. Photo: James Anderson, CC some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Exploding Flowers
Paul Smiths, NY, Mar 28, 2013 — Some flowers open quickly, and some are even spring-loaded--like the venus fly trap--but the floral deployment speed record belongs to the lowly dogwood relative, the bunchberry, which when triggered opens its tiny four-petal bloom in less than a millisecond. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss flower power. Go to full article
Dandelions. Photo: Ard Meerveld, CC some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Dandelions
Paul Smiths, NY, Mar 21, 2013 — Martha Foley mows her lawn just before the dandelions go to seed, hoping to keep their numbers down, but there's another whole crop right behind--why? Dr. Curt Stager dug into the story and found the answer in the sex life--or lack thereof--of dandelions. Go to full article
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St. Lawrence University, Canton,
New York 13617 • phone: 1-877-388-6277 • email
radio@ncpr.orgNCPR is a proud affiliate of:
NPR • American Public Media • Public Radio International
