1 00:00:06,600 --> 00:00:10,600 Speaker 1: Welcome to Creature Feature production of iHeartRadio. I'm your host 2 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: of Many Parasites, Katie Golden. I studied psychology and evolutionary biology, 3 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: and today on the show we're answering your listener questions. 4 00:00:19,400 --> 00:00:22,560 Speaker 1: That's right. You can write to me and I will 5 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,880 Speaker 1: try my best to answer your questions about animals, about 6 00:00:25,920 --> 00:00:31,639 Speaker 1: evolutionary biology, about psychology, and everything in between. You could 7 00:00:31,640 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: write to me at Creature Featurepod at gmail dot com. 8 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:39,400 Speaker 1: Let's get right into it, Hi, Katie, listening to one 9 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:42,239 Speaker 1: of your earlier episodes on Rats. I am reminded of 10 00:00:42,280 --> 00:00:44,519 Speaker 1: this rats news from a few days ago with a 11 00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:49,760 Speaker 1: link to a YouTube video. Enjoy I guess smiling crying 12 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:54,560 Speaker 1: face from jessec Hi Jesse, thank you for the cool video. 13 00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:59,160 Speaker 1: This video is a nicely done summary by Anton Petrov, 14 00:00:59,440 --> 00:01:04,360 Speaker 1: which is is a recap of the study a humanized 15 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: Nova one splicing factor alters mouse vocal communications published this 16 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 1: February in Nature. So let's talk a bit about this study. 17 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:20,880 Speaker 1: So mice were genetically modified to have a gene alteration 18 00:01:21,319 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 1: that is unique to humans, targeting a specific gene called 19 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,920 Speaker 1: NOVA one, which, among other things, is a blueprint for 20 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:34,080 Speaker 1: the development of neurons in the brain, so all mammals 21 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:38,320 Speaker 1: have NOVA one, but there is a specific change in 22 00:01:38,360 --> 00:01:42,240 Speaker 1: the amino acid sequence that seems to be specific to humans, 23 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 1: even setting us apart from our close extinct relatives like 24 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: the Neanderthals. So researchers in the study use the Crisper 25 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:57,800 Speaker 1: gene editing method to introduce this human amino acid sequence 26 00:01:57,960 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: change into embryonic minds, and they found that, yeah, these 27 00:02:03,440 --> 00:02:07,000 Speaker 1: mice started talking and walking and dancing little top hats 28 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:10,640 Speaker 1: and singing about cheese. Well okay, so not exactly, but 29 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: the findings were pretty interesting. So the mice that were 30 00:02:16,080 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: given this humanized NOVA one gene alteration had different vocalizations 31 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:29,040 Speaker 1: both as babies and as adults. They had a higher 32 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: frequency vocalizations as puffs, so higher in the frequency in 33 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: terms of higher pitched and interestingly, these higher pitched vocalizations 34 00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: lessited less of a response from their mothers. So I 35 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,519 Speaker 1: find this really important to point out because it really 36 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:54,920 Speaker 1: shows how difficult it is for a massive brain changing 37 00:02:55,000 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: mutation to actually take hold in an animal, because it's 38 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,760 Speaker 1: not always going to be beneficial in a population. It 39 00:03:02,919 --> 00:03:07,680 Speaker 1: could just as likely doom this animal that has this mutation. 40 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: So in this case, right, if these were natural born mice, 41 00:03:11,600 --> 00:03:17,120 Speaker 1: they might have more difficulty communicating to their own parents, 42 00:03:17,240 --> 00:03:20,680 Speaker 1: their own mothers, and so if the mother doesn't properly 43 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:25,440 Speaker 1: respond to its calls for food or alarm calls, that 44 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: might make the baby mouse less prone to survival. And 45 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,320 Speaker 1: so you could have a mutation that could potentially be 46 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: beneficial down the road, right, creating more intelligent mice. But 47 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 1: if in the shorter term it creates a situation in 48 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,600 Speaker 1: which the mouse offspring are less likely to survive, that 49 00:03:45,720 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: mutation is not necessarily going to beneficial. So back to 50 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:55,240 Speaker 1: the study. As adults, the mice with this humanized nova 51 00:03:55,280 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: one gene had more complex, high frequency vocalizations when attempting 52 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:07,200 Speaker 1: to communicate, especially when the male mice would attempt to 53 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:11,720 Speaker 1: communicate with female mice to convince them to mate. So 54 00:04:11,880 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: this is another interesting indication about how a mutation, where 55 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: it in natural populations, might either positively or negatively impact 56 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:26,480 Speaker 1: the organism's chance of successful reproduction. Right. So, in birds, 57 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: for example, some species have evolved to have very complex 58 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:36,159 Speaker 1: mating calls, which the females seem to appreciate because it 59 00:04:36,279 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 1: offers some signaling about the male's fitness mental physical fitness. 60 00:04:41,920 --> 00:04:45,200 Speaker 1: The male has the resources, the time, and the intellect 61 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: to be able to memorize really long songs. So in mice, 62 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:54,800 Speaker 1: it could be a situation in which these more complex 63 00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: vocalizations actually elicit a better response from mates, or it 64 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:01,719 Speaker 1: could be a worse response. Right the the female mice 65 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:04,440 Speaker 1: may have no idea what the males are talking about 66 00:05:04,480 --> 00:05:08,960 Speaker 1: because they've essentially started speaking a slightly different mousey language. 67 00:05:09,320 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: So the human mutation of the nova one gene did 68 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:18,160 Speaker 1: not suddenly gift mice the ability to speak, but it 69 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: did alter their vocalizations, including possibly creating more complex use 70 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 1: of syllables in adults, which is really interesting and it 71 00:05:27,240 --> 00:05:30,279 Speaker 1: does offer more evidence that this gene sequence might be 72 00:05:30,520 --> 00:05:35,919 Speaker 1: at least in part responsible for the development of human speech. 73 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:40,160 Speaker 1: It might also provide evidence that humans were genetically unique 74 00:05:40,360 --> 00:05:44,599 Speaker 1: from our Neanderthal relatives, which could mean that Neanderthals did 75 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:47,240 Speaker 1: not use language in the same way that we did. 76 00:05:47,279 --> 00:05:52,480 Speaker 1: There are multiple theories about this. Some anthropologists and researchers 77 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:56,160 Speaker 1: and evolutionary cologists thinks that it might be likely that 78 00:05:56,279 --> 00:05:59,800 Speaker 1: Neanderthals had some form of language, whereas others think that 79 00:06:00,080 --> 00:06:04,280 Speaker 1: the human brain probably had a change in it, a 80 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 1: structural difference that was so profound that that is what 81 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:13,039 Speaker 1: allowed us to form our complex language that probably was 82 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:17,720 Speaker 1: different from There was certainly communication among Neanderthals and vocalizations, 83 00:06:17,760 --> 00:06:21,120 Speaker 1: but it may have been either a proto language or 84 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:25,600 Speaker 1: something more simple than our language. So yeah, this is 85 00:06:25,640 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: a really interesting addition to the evidence about how we 86 00:06:31,560 --> 00:06:35,440 Speaker 1: developed language. And I do know what you guys are thinking. 87 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: You're wondering if you could inject this gene into your 88 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 1: dog and get her to talk. So basically the answer 89 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:44,839 Speaker 1: is no. First of all, it would need to be 90 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: in an embryo, so you can't inject this gene into 91 00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:51,240 Speaker 1: like an adult, fully developed animal and expect there to 92 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: be much of a difference. Secondly, our ability to speak 93 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:59,440 Speaker 1: requires not just one genetic mutation, but an entire cognitive 94 00:06:59,480 --> 00:07:03,600 Speaker 1: framework that an animal like a dog most likely lacks. 95 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 1: So who knows exactly what this would do in say 96 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: a dog, It may have no effect. It may have 97 00:07:11,760 --> 00:07:14,640 Speaker 1: some effect on their ability to bark or produce sort 98 00:07:14,640 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 1: of different barking patterns vocalizations. It would not give the 99 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:25,000 Speaker 1: dog the ability to speak, because a dog doesn't have 100 00:07:25,080 --> 00:07:30,120 Speaker 1: the same kind of cognitive structures that human beings have 101 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:33,360 Speaker 1: that allow us to speak. So, for instance, our ability 102 00:07:33,440 --> 00:07:37,040 Speaker 1: to nest concepts is really important in our ability to 103 00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: understand language, and that might be something that's a little 104 00:07:40,240 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: bit beyond a dog. Could you, though, say, edit the 105 00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: genes of a more cognitively advanced animal, like say an 106 00:07:49,760 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 1: elephant or a chimpanzee and give them more complex vocalizations 107 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,520 Speaker 1: and allow them to maybe eventually be able to speak 108 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:02,280 Speaker 1: with each other over man, maybe thousands of years of evolution. 109 00:08:03,160 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 1: Maybe Ah, that's a solid Maybe I would say you 110 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: would just have to do some wildly unethical experimentation and 111 00:08:10,680 --> 00:08:13,920 Speaker 1: wait thousands of years. But you know what, never say never. 112 00:08:17,520 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 1: All right on to the next listener email. Hi, Katie, 113 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:22,200 Speaker 1: just wanted to drop a note after a recent episode 114 00:08:22,200 --> 00:08:26,760 Speaker 1: which discussed different ways of managing populations of animal shelters 115 00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:30,520 Speaker 1: and possible regional differences in quote unquote no kill versus 116 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:33,720 Speaker 1: other animals shelters. My sisters and I have both been 117 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:35,839 Speaker 1: involved in animal rescue over the years, and my sister 118 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,600 Speaker 1: has fostered numerous dogs, including a pregnant mama and assisting 119 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,600 Speaker 1: the birth of her puppies. She kept Mama pick attached 120 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,480 Speaker 1: for the tax. Thank you for that. It was very cute. 121 00:08:45,760 --> 00:08:47,560 Speaker 1: I hope it's a consolation to know that there are 122 00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:50,559 Speaker 1: many rescues in my area, the Northeast, where no kill 123 00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: shelters are more common, who specialize in pulling animals from 124 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:57,840 Speaker 1: ones that use euthanasia. There's also lots of rescues that 125 00:08:57,880 --> 00:09:01,160 Speaker 1: pull from New York City Animal Control as well. These 126 00:09:01,240 --> 00:09:04,160 Speaker 1: rescues find dogs who are on borrowed time and get 127 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:07,760 Speaker 1: foster commitments. Once there's enough, though, they send vans down 128 00:09:07,800 --> 00:09:09,960 Speaker 1: to transport them up here so they can be saved 129 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 1: and have good homes. Most that pull from far away 130 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 1: have entire networks of transport drivers that travel in legs. 131 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:18,560 Speaker 1: It's a small dent, but at least they can save 132 00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: some A lot of the shelters the rescue we work 133 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:23,959 Speaker 1: for are in the Carolinas, and we are in New York. 134 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:26,000 Speaker 1: Not sure about other parts of the country, but it 135 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,000 Speaker 1: seems to be the area closest to us that has 136 00:09:28,120 --> 00:09:31,760 Speaker 1: a big dog overpopulation issue in their public shelters. And 137 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:35,520 Speaker 1: this is from Caroline H. Hi. Caroline, I really appreciate 138 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:37,920 Speaker 1: you writing in and letting me know about these programs. 139 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:40,880 Speaker 1: I love to hear that there's a network of limited 140 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:44,960 Speaker 1: intake and general intake shelters, so also known as no 141 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:50,280 Speaker 1: kill versus you know, euthanasia shelters. I think that's fantastic, 142 00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,240 Speaker 1: especially when different states can work together to get animals 143 00:09:53,240 --> 00:09:56,840 Speaker 1: to the homes that they need. It's you know, I 144 00:09:56,840 --> 00:10:01,240 Speaker 1: think that both shelters perform very important services, and the 145 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:03,319 Speaker 1: fact that they can work together to try to get 146 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 1: the dogs and cats to the resources that they need 147 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:11,840 Speaker 1: is wonderful, very beautiful. So just to share some stuff 148 00:10:11,840 --> 00:10:14,440 Speaker 1: that I've learned being in Italy, there's a lot of 149 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,280 Speaker 1: cooperation between shelters in the South and the North to 150 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:19,960 Speaker 1: spread out the number of animals in any given shelter. 151 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:23,600 Speaker 1: In turn, there are huge numbers of dogs that find 152 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:27,360 Speaker 1: their way to people's homes. And this city really loves dogs. 153 00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:29,679 Speaker 1: I've never been in a city that loves dogs so much, 154 00:10:29,720 --> 00:10:32,920 Speaker 1: which is great for me as a dog owner. Most 155 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:35,800 Speaker 1: restaurants and shops allow you to bring your dog given 156 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,760 Speaker 1: that they're well behaved. There are tons of pet welfare 157 00:10:38,840 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: laws on the books. It does kind of mean, actually 158 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 1: that there's a lot of dog poop on the streets, 159 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,000 Speaker 1: even though I'd say about ninety five percent of people 160 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,319 Speaker 1: clean up after their dogs. There's so many dogs that 161 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:51,840 Speaker 1: even the five percent of people who are naughty and 162 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:55,080 Speaker 1: don't clean up after their dogs means that there's a 163 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:57,679 Speaker 1: good amount of mess for the rest of us. So 164 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: people here also really love cats, so they're generally not 165 00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:05,199 Speaker 1: allowed outside here. In turn, there are even requirements from 166 00:11:05,240 --> 00:11:08,640 Speaker 1: shelters that balconies have to be kept secured so cats 167 00:11:08,679 --> 00:11:12,520 Speaker 1: don't accidentally fall out of their apartments. I have actually 168 00:11:12,559 --> 00:11:16,640 Speaker 1: seen cats on leashes on a surprising number of occasions. 169 00:11:16,880 --> 00:11:19,040 Speaker 1: We've even seen a cat that was not on a 170 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:24,080 Speaker 1: leash but was following his owner around very very dutifully 171 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 1: and loyally. I've never seen that before, but that was 172 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:30,400 Speaker 1: pretty incredible. There was another one that was sitting on 173 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:32,920 Speaker 1: its owner's shoulders while he was writing one of those 174 00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: hoverboard thingies, so like the owner was riding the hoffboard, 175 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,439 Speaker 1: not the cat, the cat was sitting on his owner's shoulders. 176 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:44,079 Speaker 1: It was incredible to see, and I would be remiss 177 00:11:44,559 --> 00:11:46,800 Speaker 1: if I didn't mention one of the most famous cat 178 00:11:46,840 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: shelters in Italy, which is in Rome, the Lago di 179 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:54,480 Speaker 1: Torre Argentina, which is near where Julius Caesar was assassinated. 180 00:11:54,520 --> 00:11:59,439 Speaker 1: These are Roman ruins and the Torre Argentina Cat Sanctuary 181 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:03,440 Speaker 1: has about one hundred and fifty feline residents who wander 182 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:07,480 Speaker 1: around the ruins and are fed near this shed where 183 00:12:07,559 --> 00:12:11,640 Speaker 1: archaeologists used to store their tools. It started as an 184 00:12:11,720 --> 00:12:16,040 Speaker 1: informal arrangement where cats who would congregate there because it 185 00:12:16,080 --> 00:12:18,800 Speaker 1: was a pleasant place for them to sun themselves or 186 00:12:19,320 --> 00:12:22,240 Speaker 1: sleep in the shade, would get fed by the locals 187 00:12:22,240 --> 00:12:24,520 Speaker 1: and by the groundskeepers, and now it's become a more 188 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:27,840 Speaker 1: formal situation. They work with vets to make sure that 189 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,480 Speaker 1: the cats are spayed and neutered, and visitors can come 190 00:12:30,640 --> 00:12:33,880 Speaker 1: donate to the shelter, buy little chotchkeys, and all the 191 00:12:33,920 --> 00:12:37,680 Speaker 1: proceeds go to benefit the cats. They can even go 192 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:40,560 Speaker 1: and meet a cat and adopt ones, so it's really 193 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:44,080 Speaker 1: really cool. I actually I have been to Rome. I 194 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,200 Speaker 1: have not been to this cat sanctuary, but I have 195 00:12:46,360 --> 00:12:49,599 Speaker 1: been to other ruins, and there are cats that like 196 00:12:49,679 --> 00:12:54,360 Speaker 1: to hang out there as well. So they are just 197 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,480 Speaker 1: rolling around sun bathing themselves, probably right on the spot 198 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:02,600 Speaker 1: where Julius Caesar was assessed. If they fits, they sits, 199 00:13:02,960 --> 00:13:08,920 Speaker 1: even if it's the side of a historical assassination. Hi Katie, 200 00:13:08,960 --> 00:13:11,480 Speaker 1: thank you for answering my questions and responding even when 201 00:13:11,520 --> 00:13:14,040 Speaker 1: I didn't have a question. Today, I do have a question, 202 00:13:14,160 --> 00:13:17,439 Speaker 1: and it's about emperor penguin chicks. They are so adorable, 203 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:20,880 Speaker 1: but why, specifically, what is the evolutionary advantage for them 204 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:23,360 Speaker 1: to look the way they do, spinning their chick hood 205 00:13:23,360 --> 00:13:25,800 Speaker 1: in the dead of an Antarctica with no natural predators. They 206 00:13:25,840 --> 00:13:28,960 Speaker 1: have no need for camouflage, so why I certainly wouldn't 207 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:31,720 Speaker 1: mind if they have evolved simply to be so darn cute. 208 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:34,720 Speaker 1: A side note, I had a similar question about pandas 209 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:38,199 Speaker 1: in general until a recent documentary revealed that wild panda 210 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,440 Speaker 1: mothers would leave their babies on tree branches that perfectly 211 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:44,720 Speaker 1: camouflage them to keep them away from male pandas. It's 212 00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:48,280 Speaker 1: uncanny and satisfying to see at the same time. Cheers Jesse, 213 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:53,360 Speaker 1: Hi Jesse, this is a great question. So emperor penguin 214 00:13:53,440 --> 00:13:56,640 Speaker 1: chicks do actually have to worry a bit about predators, 215 00:13:57,480 --> 00:13:59,839 Speaker 1: though they might not be who you would expect. So 216 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: other seabirds do like to eat young chicks, like giant 217 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 1: petrels and skuas, so most likely the young penguins feathers 218 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:15,440 Speaker 1: are designed primarily for warmth rather than swimming, so the 219 00:14:15,760 --> 00:14:18,240 Speaker 1: young penguins do not need to swim. Little babies don't 220 00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:21,000 Speaker 1: swim out, they don't go fishing. It's that's all their parents. 221 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:26,960 Speaker 1: So their feathers are very downy. They're really fluffy, fluffy, 222 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:31,440 Speaker 1: they're very fluffy. It's designed for warmth rather than being 223 00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 1: able to swim, so that's their sort of baby down coat. 224 00:14:36,080 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 1: In terms of coloration, the grayish white of their coats 225 00:14:41,760 --> 00:14:45,880 Speaker 1: probably helps the grayish white of their plumage probably helps 226 00:14:45,920 --> 00:14:49,760 Speaker 1: them blend in somewhat with their environment, while the black 227 00:14:49,800 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 1: on their heads and beaks and the little patch under 228 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:56,600 Speaker 1: their chins give their parents a good target for where 229 00:14:56,640 --> 00:15:00,920 Speaker 1: to deposit food and helps them identify them as a chick. 230 00:15:01,480 --> 00:15:05,040 Speaker 1: So the features that we find cute about the baby penguins, 231 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:08,120 Speaker 1: like how their cheeks and eyes are surrounded by white feathers, 232 00:15:08,160 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 1: that little black patch under their chin allowing their faces 233 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 1: to be more recognizable, may also be in a way 234 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:19,360 Speaker 1: cute so to speak, to the adult penguins, eliciting a 235 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,960 Speaker 1: maternal or paternal response, helping them to recognize the chicks 236 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,920 Speaker 1: and making them want to care for them, so similar 237 00:15:27,960 --> 00:15:31,520 Speaker 1: to how we find human babies cute and animals because 238 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:35,240 Speaker 1: animals proportions can be similar to human babies and elicit 239 00:15:35,280 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: that same sort of care taking response, that may be 240 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:42,280 Speaker 1: achieving the same thing with the adult penguins. In a way, 241 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: evolving for cuteness is not a bad idea. That may 242 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:49,640 Speaker 1: be part of the reason they look this way. As adults, 243 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:51,800 Speaker 1: they do need to change because they need to grow 244 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:56,480 Speaker 1: in feathers that are more that are more ideal for 245 00:15:56,800 --> 00:16:00,760 Speaker 1: swimming rather than for simply one they do have a 246 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:06,360 Speaker 1: nice downy layer underneath their sleeker swimming feathers. They also 247 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 1: need to advertise their sexual maturity to mates, so they 248 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: lose their baby feathers that down and they molt, and 249 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:19,520 Speaker 1: then they develop that striking black, white and orange coloration 250 00:16:19,640 --> 00:16:23,120 Speaker 1: that emperor penguins are so well known for, which advertises 251 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: that they are also now sexually mature. Their little tuxedo 252 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:30,960 Speaker 1: suits might help them evade predation in the water as 253 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,760 Speaker 1: well through the lightness of their bellies and the darkness 254 00:16:34,800 --> 00:16:37,400 Speaker 1: of their backs, because there's this phenomenon where when you're 255 00:16:37,880 --> 00:16:40,880 Speaker 1: below something in the ocean and looking up, light is 256 00:16:40,960 --> 00:16:43,960 Speaker 1: coming down from the top, so if you're looking up, 257 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:47,080 Speaker 1: things are light, and so if something has a light belly, 258 00:16:47,480 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 1: it'll blend in better with looking up through the light 259 00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:53,480 Speaker 1: filtering in through the top of the ocean, whereas if 260 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,960 Speaker 1: you're looking down, it's further away from the source of light, 261 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:58,760 Speaker 1: so it gets darker the further down you go. So 262 00:16:58,800 --> 00:17:01,800 Speaker 1: you're looking down something has a dark back, it's more 263 00:17:01,920 --> 00:17:04,840 Speaker 1: likely to blend in with the darkness of the ocean. 264 00:17:04,840 --> 00:17:09,280 Speaker 1: That's why things like penguins and orcas have that coloration 265 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:13,159 Speaker 1: where it's dark on the top and then light white underbelly. 266 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:15,840 Speaker 1: It's very striking looking to us, but it actually acts 267 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:20,760 Speaker 1: as camouflage. The orange coloration, like along their beaks and 268 00:17:20,840 --> 00:17:25,080 Speaker 1: on their chests, is likely for sexual selection purposes. As 269 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:28,920 Speaker 1: I mentioned earlier, they want to advertise that they're sexually mature, 270 00:17:28,960 --> 00:17:32,240 Speaker 1: they're ready to mate, and both males and females have 271 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:37,119 Speaker 1: this coloration, which is typical for birds, especially who both 272 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:40,040 Speaker 1: invest a lot in childcare. So, which is the case 273 00:17:40,080 --> 00:17:43,160 Speaker 1: for emperor penguins, both the males and the females have 274 00:17:43,200 --> 00:17:47,639 Speaker 1: to tend the eggs take turns getting fish sitting on 275 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:50,760 Speaker 1: the eggs, so they both need to impress one another 276 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:56,160 Speaker 1: in order to mate, whereas in other species of penguin 277 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,360 Speaker 1: or in birds, where it's the female who primarily does 278 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:03,199 Speaker 1: the care tape, then she needs to be choosier in 279 00:18:03,280 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 1: terms of her mate, and that's usually where you get 280 00:18:05,280 --> 00:18:09,760 Speaker 1: this larger sexual dimorphism, meaning differences between the male and 281 00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:13,639 Speaker 1: the female, where maybe the female is more optimized for 282 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:17,080 Speaker 1: camouflage and the male's more optimized for showing off as 283 00:18:17,080 --> 00:18:19,760 Speaker 1: plumage and impressing a female. So in this case and 284 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,800 Speaker 1: inmper penguins, they're both trying to impress each other while 285 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:25,880 Speaker 1: also retaining some of that camouflage, and that's why they 286 00:18:25,920 --> 00:18:30,480 Speaker 1: have both the stunning orange bands near their mouths and 287 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:34,199 Speaker 1: on their chests. But they also have the black and 288 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:37,600 Speaker 1: white coloration that helps them camouflage while swimming, which is 289 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,720 Speaker 1: where adult inmper penguins are going to find most of 290 00:18:40,760 --> 00:18:46,920 Speaker 1: their predators while they're swimming. All right, last listener question, 291 00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: plaid frogs. These pictures look fake. The lighting is too 292 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:53,560 Speaker 1: perfect for the wild, and they are all taken at 293 00:18:53,560 --> 00:18:56,320 Speaker 1: the same angle and distance. Are these AI generated or 294 00:18:56,359 --> 00:19:00,200 Speaker 1: are there actually a species of classy dapper frogs out there? 295 00:19:00,240 --> 00:19:02,000 Speaker 1: And then this was followed up by a quick email 296 00:19:02,040 --> 00:19:05,359 Speaker 1: that said, disregard that last email plaid frogs. I'm ninety 297 00:19:05,359 --> 00:19:07,720 Speaker 1: eight point four six seven percent sure that was an 298 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:12,119 Speaker 1: April fool's joke. This is from JR. S. I won't 299 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,160 Speaker 1: disregard this email because I see this all the time 300 00:19:15,160 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 1: where there's I mean, obviously this was an April fool's joke, 301 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:22,520 Speaker 1: but there's so many AI images out there now of 302 00:19:22,640 --> 00:19:25,560 Speaker 1: animals that are meant to deceive rather than just be 303 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:30,639 Speaker 1: a fun April fool's prank, and I find it frustrating 304 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:37,240 Speaker 1: because real frogs that actually exist have incredible skin textures 305 00:19:37,280 --> 00:19:40,800 Speaker 1: and colorations that don't look like they should exist. So 306 00:19:41,359 --> 00:19:45,639 Speaker 1: now it feels like people may see something really incredible 307 00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:47,919 Speaker 1: or real frog and go like, ah, that might be AI. 308 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:50,640 Speaker 1: So let me give you some examples of some frogs 309 00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:54,040 Speaker 1: that might look like they are AI creations, but they 310 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:59,360 Speaker 1: absolutely exist. One of them is the glass frog, which 311 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,480 Speaker 1: is found in Central America. There's a few different species 312 00:20:02,520 --> 00:20:05,680 Speaker 1: of glass frogs, but in general, they have skin that's 313 00:20:05,720 --> 00:20:12,480 Speaker 1: so transparent you can actually see their organs. The translucency 314 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:16,199 Speaker 1: is so that they can camouflage against the leaves that 315 00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:19,879 Speaker 1: they sit on, so basically, you know, they have a 316 00:20:20,400 --> 00:20:26,240 Speaker 1: invisible camouflage mode, which is incredible. When they're asleep, most 317 00:20:26,320 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 1: of their blood is concentrated in the liver, leaving them 318 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:32,880 Speaker 1: mostly colorless and translucent, so they can be safe from 319 00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,600 Speaker 1: predators while they're at rest. When they're awake and their 320 00:20:35,600 --> 00:20:37,920 Speaker 1: blood is flowing, they're a little more not I would. 321 00:20:38,119 --> 00:20:41,280 Speaker 1: They're still translucent there, but there's more color to them 322 00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:44,280 Speaker 1: so you can see them a little more clearly. Of course, 323 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:49,160 Speaker 1: there's poisoned dart frogs that are absolutely beautiful, have amazing colorations. 324 00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:52,119 Speaker 1: You've probably seen these before. They're the frogs that have 325 00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:56,680 Speaker 1: the really bright coloration. Most of them are very very toxic. 326 00:20:56,880 --> 00:21:00,520 Speaker 1: Some of them are mimics of the toxic and dart 327 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:04,439 Speaker 1: frogs so they can get some advantage. So some of 328 00:21:04,440 --> 00:21:08,280 Speaker 1: my favorites just by looks are Zimmerman's poison frog found 329 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:12,160 Speaker 1: in Peru, which has these beautiful black spots and mint 330 00:21:12,240 --> 00:21:17,080 Speaker 1: green and yellow sort of reticulations. It's really really pretty. 331 00:21:18,160 --> 00:21:21,720 Speaker 1: Also in Peru is the red headed poison frog, and 332 00:21:21,800 --> 00:21:23,919 Speaker 1: I like this one not just out of solidarity as 333 00:21:23,960 --> 00:21:25,960 Speaker 1: a fellow redhead, but because it looks like half of 334 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:29,800 Speaker 1: its body got dunked in sort of an orange glaze, 335 00:21:29,840 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 1: while the bottom half is reticulated blue and black. So 336 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:37,080 Speaker 1: it's absolutely stunning. And something that's not a poisoned dart 337 00:21:37,119 --> 00:21:40,240 Speaker 1: frog but is really really pretty, at least during certain 338 00:21:40,400 --> 00:21:44,360 Speaker 1: periods of the season is the Indian bullfrog. The males 339 00:21:44,400 --> 00:21:48,159 Speaker 1: turn bright yellow during mating season, and their vocal sacs 340 00:21:48,200 --> 00:21:51,040 Speaker 1: are this bright blue, so when they're inflated, they look 341 00:21:51,200 --> 00:21:56,479 Speaker 1: like these bright blue balloons attached to this lemon yellow frog. 342 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:00,119 Speaker 1: It's really really pretty, really cool to look at. And 343 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:01,920 Speaker 1: then if you ever if you want to look at 344 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:06,800 Speaker 1: online for Indian bullfrogs, you can usually find videos of 345 00:22:06,880 --> 00:22:10,320 Speaker 1: these guys in huge clusters, a bunch of them loudly 346 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:13,560 Speaker 1: making their call and trying to find a mate, so 347 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 1: really amazing. So there are some really cool frogs out there, 348 00:22:18,200 --> 00:22:22,640 Speaker 1: and they're not AI generated, which can be frustrating, but hey, 349 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,320 Speaker 1: you know what, if you ever see something and you're 350 00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:29,080 Speaker 1: because AI is getting better and better and it gets 351 00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:31,400 Speaker 1: easier and easier to be fooled bite, especially because there 352 00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:35,160 Speaker 1: are genuinely really cool animals out there that do look 353 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:38,240 Speaker 1: like they might have been generated by AI and you 354 00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:40,560 Speaker 1: can't tell the difference and you want my help with it, 355 00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:42,840 Speaker 1: just go ahead and email me. You can email me 356 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:45,600 Speaker 1: at Creature feature Pod at gmail dot com and I'll 357 00:22:45,640 --> 00:22:48,800 Speaker 1: help you figure out whether an image is real or not, 358 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:51,760 Speaker 1: or a hoax or whatever it is. And if you 359 00:22:51,800 --> 00:22:54,840 Speaker 1: have any questions, you can also email me and I 360 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:58,040 Speaker 1: will do my best to answer them. Thank you guys 361 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:01,120 Speaker 1: so much for listening. And if you're enjoying the show 362 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:02,879 Speaker 1: and you leave a rating or a review, you know 363 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,640 Speaker 1: that that helps me in that does improve the metrics 364 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,920 Speaker 1: of the show. I don't know algorithms. We're all ruled 365 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,040 Speaker 1: by computers. Now. Soon the AI frogs will take over, 366 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,479 Speaker 1: and I, for one, I don't know if I welcome 367 00:23:17,520 --> 00:23:20,640 Speaker 1: them because they look too smooth. It's creepy. I don't 368 00:23:20,720 --> 00:23:23,960 Speaker 1: like it. Anyways, guys, thank you again for listening and 369 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:25,880 Speaker 1: I'll see you next Wednesday.