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Natural Selections
On Natural Selections each week, join a short conversation on the natural world. Topics range from evolutionary biology to geology and wildlife, from climate science to animal and human behavior.
The program is hosted by NCPR news director Martha Foley joined by naturalist Dr. Curt Stager of Paul
Smith's College.
Support for Natural Selections is provided by the Glenn
and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, dedicated
to improving the quality of life for year-round residents
of the Adirondack Park, and by Paul Smith's, the College of the Adirondacks.
New Book: Deep Future
"The course we take in the coming decades will affect not just the next hundred years, but the next hundred thousand years of life on this planet." --Curt Stager
In bookstores now
Order at: Amazon | Borders
Barnes & Noble | Books-A-Million | Powell's Books
And please remember your local independent booksellers. Find one near you.
Nature features
Curt Stager on On Point
Listen to Dr. Curt Stager as the guest on On Point, 3/24/11, talking about his new book, Deep Future: the Next 100,000 Years of Life on Earth.
Curt's Save the Carbon Blog
Spring, 2012: Just A Fluke, or A Taste of the Future?
Partial ice-out on Lower Saint Regis Lake , March 22, 2012.Record-high March temperatures have driven the ice... more
The weather of 2011: a waste or a wake-up call?
We've been having a difficult time with weather this year in the North Country. But let's not... more
The Power of Moving Water
Spread your arms out sideways and your hands will be roughly one meter apart. Use that span to sculpt an... more
Upper Jay, six days after Irene.
Six days after Irene drove the Ausable River and its tributaries over their banks, Kary and I visited the heavily... more
Irene devastates the Ausable Valley
Former hurricane ("tropical storm") Irene did relatively little damage last Sunday near my home in Paul Smiths, here in... more
Natural History
A keen eye and extensive knowledge of feathers allows forensic ornithologist Carla Dove (yes, that's her name) figure out from feather and bone fragments which type of bird crashed into a plane or was eaten by a snake. But the expertise has an...
Birds flock. Insects swarm. Fish swim in schools. These are all examples of collective behavior, a concept that has fascinated scientists for decades. For a recent piece in <em>Wired Magazine</em>, science writer Ed Yong explains what...
About 55 million years ago, a teacup-sized critter in China was helping to pave the way for apes and humans. This insect eater had fingernails and stereo vision, a newly published analysis of a fossil suggests. And it weighed just 1 ounce.
Sex is nice, but can animals make babies without it? One summer, two little boys, their tutor and the tutor's two friends did an experiment to explore this question. What they discovered, back in 1740, shocked the world.
A report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says insects offer a huge potential for improving the world's food security. Peter Menzel, co-author of <em>Man Eating Bugs</em>, describes some insect-based cuisine and the western...
Natural Selections with hosts Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager airs Thursday mornings during The Eight O'Clock Hour.
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Kristeen Colby under a blue sky near Gabriels. Archive Photo of the Day: Jason Colby, Saranac Lake, NY.
Natural Selections: Why is the sky blue?, take 2
Paul Smiths, NY, Nov 08, 2012 — Dr. Curt Stager tries once again to answer the classic child's question. It is a poser that was worthy of Einstein's time, who eventually came up with the best answer. But it's complicated. And when the sky isn't blue, why not? What's up with that? Martha Foley wants to know. Go to full article
Top: Reconstruction of Ambulocetus natans, a primitive cetacean from 40-50 million years ago, by Nobu Tamura, CC some rights reserved, and Bottom: Reconstruction of Kutchicetus, another ancestor of today's sea mammals.
Natural Selections: Whales and land mammals
Paul Smiths, NY, Nov 01, 2012 — Whales are relatively new to the ocean. Fossil evidence allows evolutionary biologists to trace the whale's transformation from land mammal into air-breathing ocean dweller. Today's whales still carry a legacy of their landed past in a vestigial pelvis, femur, and other typical anatomical traits. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager dig into a big topic. Go to full article
Some are plants, some not so much. Blanket of brilliant green moss, mounds of reindeer lichens, and conifer saplings growing on smooth rock banks between Blue Ridge and Newcomb. Archive Photo of the Day: Ann Pilcher.
Natural Selections: What is a plant?
Paul Smiths, NY, Oct 25, 2012 — Mushrooms grow out of the soil like plants, but are fungi. Lichens may look leafy, but they are symbiotic colonies of fungi and algae. Seaweed looks like a plant, but is an algae colony. And Indian Pipe looks like a fungi, but is a plant. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss the ins and outs of botany. Go to full article
Sickle cells in the blood (foreground) result from two inherited copies of the gene, and cause anemia. One copy confers resistance to malaria. Photo: Wellcome Images, CC some rights reserved
Natural Selections: When evolution GOES WRONG!
Paul Smiths, NY, Oct 18, 2012 — Not all evolutionary change is good. Genetic changes can be neutral or harmful, as well as beneficial. And some change can be both, conferring benefit when a single copy of a gene is present, and causing a life-threatening disease when copies are inherited from both parents. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager roll the dice on evolution. Go to full article
Haircap moss, showing both "generations." Photo: Kristian Peters, CC some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Alternation of generations
Paul Smiths, NY, Oct 04, 2012 — What if people gave birth to puppies, and those puppies in turn gave birth to people? That's similar to what some species, such as haircap moss, do. Each alternate generation has a different form and function. Dr Curt Stager and Martha Foley explore the biological oddity "alternation of generations." Go to full article
The sun breaks water in the atmosphere down into hydrogen and oxygen. Image: US DOE
Natural Selections: Did a dinosaur drink my water?
Paul Smiths, NY, Sep 27, 2012 — In an earlier conversation on the natural world, Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager talked about the longevity of atoms, and how atoms within our body may have once been in the bodies of dinosaurs. But the question remains, is that true of water? How old is it, really? Go to full article
Sculpture of "Champy" on the Burlington waterfront. Photo: Don Shall, CC some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Lake monsters
Paul Smiths, NY, Sep 20, 2012 — Dr. Curt Stager is back from a conference in Scotland where one of the topics was the possibility of lake monsters such as the famous denizen of Loch Ness, or Lake Champlain's Champy. Could the commonly reportedly long-necked monsters be plesiosaurs, left over from the Jurassic era? Probably not. Go to full article
Striped skunks. Photo: Tomfriedel, CC some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Skunks
Paul Smiths, NY, Sep 13, 2012 — This nocturnal nuisance can spray its cruel brew about as far as it can see: Ten feet. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager get down to the basics: "How do you get rid of the skunk under the porch? Go to full article
Sequoias can top 300 feet. Photo: henryalien, CC some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Tree growth
Paul Smiths, NY, Sep 06, 2012 — Trees may live for hundreds, thousands of years, but there are limits on their growth. Trees can only move so much water, and only to a certain height. Martha Foley and Dr. Curt Stager discuss the hydrology of trees. Go to full article
Buckwheat. Photo: David-O, CC some rights reserved
Natural Selections: Buckwheat, the un-wheat
Paul Smiths, NY, Aug 30, 2012 — We use buckwheat flour for many of the same purposes as wheat flour, but the plants they originate from are not even closely related. And that's a good thing for people who suffer from gluten allergies. Go to full article
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