Frog song, shrimp and evolution: Animal Behavior Podcast launches Season 2

Do you ever wonder why some frogs use complex calls to attract mates? Or what tropical birds eat? Or how shrimp see?

Matthew Zipple does. A Klarman Postdoctoral Fellow in neurobiology and behavior in the College of Arts and Sciences and an animal behavior expert, Zipple studies highly social animals, such as primates, whales, elephants and humans. But he’s also perpetually curious about research outside his area of expertise.

To learn more about the vast array of animal behaviors and to share this knowledge with the public, Zipple started The Animal Behavior Podcast last year with fellow animal behavior researcher Amy Strauss, a science educator and doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts. Season 2 launches on May 2. Sponsored by the Animal Behavior Society, the podcast illuminates the research of expert and emerging scientists, as well as their scientific journeys, through casual conversations.

“My ambition for the podcast is to provide the opportunity for myself and listeners to engage with animal behavior research material at a broader scale,” Zipple said. “It’s easy to get stuck in a specialized niche. That’s good in some ways, but it’s easy to lose the bigger picture, the general goals of the field and the direction of the field and how things connect.”

Zipple said the podcast’s second season will branch into sociological questions, such as leadership and economic inequality. The second season will be recorded in the Cornell Broadcast Studios.