Episode 175 - Plant Defenses

Plants are delicious, nutritious, and full of energy, so they’re prime targets for all sorts of herbivores, parasites, and pathogens. But plants aren’t just sitting passively accepting attacks, they use a variety of strategies to defend themselves, from the frustrating to the fatal. This episode, we’re joined by our favorite paleobotanist, Aly Baumgartner, to discuss the many ways plants defend themselves – physically, chemically, and beyond – and the fascinating evolutionary history of plant defenses and their offenders. In the news: deep-sea fish, Wollemi pines, learning birds, and plant technology. Time markers: Intro & Announcements: 00:00:00 News: 00:06:55 Main discussion, Part 1: 00:38:15 Main discussion, Part 2: 01:12:25 Patron question: 01:48:10 Check out our blog for bonus info and pictures: http://commondescentpodcast.com/ Join us on Patreon to support the podcast and enjoy bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/commondescentpodcast Got a topic you want to hear about? Submit your episode request here: https://commondescentpodcast.com/request-a-topic/ We’re an Audible Affiliate Partner! Use this link for a 30-day free trial to Audible: https://www.audibletrial.com/CommonDescent Or make a one-time donation via PayPal: https://tinyurl.com/4c68u4hp Find merch at the Common Descent Store! http://zazzle.com/common_descent Join the Common Descent Discord server! https://discord.gg/CwPBxdh9Ev Follow and Support us on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/CommonDescentPC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/commondescentpodcast Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/commondescentpodcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCePRXHEnZmTGum2r1l2mduw PodBean: https://commondescentpodcast.podbean.com/ You can email us at commondescentpodcast(at)gmail.com Or send us physical mail at: The Common Descent Podcast 1735 W State of Franklin Rd. Ste 5 #165 Johnson City, TN 37604 The Intro and Outro music is “On the Origin of Species” by Protodome. More music like this at http://ocremix.org. Musical Interludes are "Professor Umlaut" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/