Adapt or Die! The Evolutionary Biology of Pop Culture
Darwin did not expect to have "his" theory applied to pixelated creatures...this is payback for taking the limelight over Wallace. On Adapt or Die, Austin (a PhD candidate in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology) explores topics in popular culture that can be dissected with evolutionary theories and ideas. We will ask questions like "Does Pokémon evolution work like actual evolution?" or "How would evolution inform what lives and what dies after nuclear fallout". Combining peer-reviewed science, humour, and a smidge of speculation we will adapt our understanding of pop culture together.
Adapt or Die! The Evolutionary Biology of Pop Culture
9. One Flew Over the Archeops' Nest: Fossils
Episode Description:
Welcome to this brand new episode of Adapt or Die! The evolutionary biology of pop culture hosted by Austin Ashbaugh. The current cultural phenomenon we are discussing this season is Pokémon and todays episode is focused on the rock type. Our evolutionary connection to the rock type is fossils.
In the Safari Zone, I get into how fossils form, how we know what fossils are associated with what animals, and the basis for all of the fossil pokémon. During the pokémon professors rant, I appropriately rant about the the lack of mammalian fossil pokémon. Lastly, we will end todays episode with describing a regional variant of the deerling line and results from our latest pokémon spectacular competition. Sit back and relax in a chair older than yourself, open an old dusty tome, and join me as we adapt or die!
Link to Google Slides of Pokémon discussed in this episode
Follow Adapt or Die! on Instagram for regular updates
Follow Austin on Bluesky and Instagram
Have a pop culture ecology or evolutionary biology question you want answered? Submit your questions and ideas here for a chance to have your topic researched and discussed on the podcast!
Song credits: Music by Gregor Quendel from Pixabay
Logo design: Austin Ashbaugh, Chase Ashbaugh, Xander Allen
Resources cited for research in this episode:
1. Cerda, I. A., Novas, F. E., Carballido, J. L., & Salgado, L. (2022). Osteohistology of the hyperelongate hemispinous processes of Amargasaurus cazaui (Dinosauria: Sauropoda): Implications for soft tissue reconstruction and functional significance. _Journal of Anatomy_, _240_(6), 1005-1019.
2. Clements, T., Atterby, J., Cleary, T., Dearden, R. P., & Rossi, V. (2022). The perception of palaeontology in commercial off-the-shelf video games and an assessment of their potential as educational tools. _Geoscience Communication_, _5_(3), 289-306.
3. Li, C., Wu, XC., Rieppel, O. _et al._ An ancestral turtle from the Late Triassic of southwestern China. _Nature_ **456**, 497–501 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07533
4. Lopatin, A.V., Sotnikova, M.V., Klimovsky, A.I. _et al._ Mummy of a juvenile sabre-toothed cat _Homotherium latidens_ from the Upper Pleistocene of Siberia. _Sci Rep_ **14**, 28016 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-79546-1
Follow Adapt or Die! on Instagram for regular updates
Follow Austin on Bluesky and Instagram
Have a pop culture ecology or evolutionary biology question you want answered? Submit your questions and ideas here for a chance to have your topic researched and discussed on the podcast!
Song credits: Music by Gregor Quendel from Pixabay
Logo design: Austin Ashbaugh, Chase Ashbaugh, Xander Allen
