Episode 135: Not all heroes have spines (with Drew Harvell)

What biological "superpowers" do marine invertebrates possess? What challenges do they face and will their resilience protect them from anthropogenic change? On this episode, we talk with Drew Harvell, Professor Emerita of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Cornell University, Affiliate Faculty at the University of Washington, former Science Envoy for Ocean Conservation (US State Dept), and former NOAA Aquanaut. Drew is also an author, and we had her on the podcast to talk about her new book The Oceans Menagerie: How Earth’s Strangest Creatures Reshape the Rules of Life. In our conversation, we focus on several organisms she explores in the book– sponges, corals, and sea stars. Drew explains the biological superpowers of each group and how their adaptations help them survive environmental changes and disease outbreaks. Cover art: Keating Shahmehri.