Episode 278 | LOST

Sure, polar bears are scary, but at least they're not venomous. 

00:00:00 - This episode Ryan is joined by four (4!) guests to talk about their paper published in Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics about whether or not humans are to blame for the extinction of Caribbean mammals. What did they discover? You can read a summary of the work written by co-author Alexis Mychajliw here and then listen to find out even more!

00:31:08 - Island life goes better with a drink. Doing the show all these years means there are occasionally bottles with a very small amount of left in them being "saved for the show." This week, Ryan downs the final two ounces out of a batch 1 bottle of Barrell Bourbon, a very good overproof whiskey, if you like that sort of thing. 

00:33:12 - Part two of Ryan's chat covers how a multi-first author collaboration even works, as well as what we can expect to see from their team next. We also discuss the recent hurricanes in the region, and what that means for both the people and for the science. You can help out by donating to Puerto Rican scientists and contributing to crowd-sourced projects to better understand hurricanes like this one. Follow along with each of the interviewees using these handy links!

Aleix Mychajliw: Website and Twitter
Siobáhn Cooke: Website and Twitter
Liliana M. Dávalos: Lab website and Facebook
Nate Upham: Website and Twitter

01:05:18 - PaleoPOWs are a lot like localized extinctions: entirely avoidable but sometimes inevitable. This week we're keeping it short with a simple thanks to Lisa K. for her recurring donation. Thanks, Lisa! No thesis this week since Ryan is solo, but if you want your own thesis title, head on over to Patreon and sign up for the Avogadro's Army level or higher.

More cool rewards await you if you decide to support us on Patreon!

Music for this week's show:
Main Title from "LOST" - Michael Giacchino
Buttons - The Weeks
Barrel of a Gun - Guster
Change the World (Lost Ones) - Anberlin

Image credit: Modified from the hilarious must-read Missing Missy