Individuals

In an age of individualism, sometimes we are more connected than
we think. And the same is true for everything on the planet.
Rutendo and Sebastian explore the question of how and why we
define an individual, a colony, or a group, across the animal
kingdom.


Lisa Kirkendale was astounded when she came across the longest
organism ever discovered, a siphonophore off the coast of
Australia. Composed of several semi-independent but constantly
connected parts known as zooids, could it be seen as a colony of
many creatures, or just one?


Richard Youell, a beekeeper and sound recordist, uses innovative
techniques to record directly inside a beehive, an almost
impossible task because of bees’ natural inclination to protect
themselves from a microphone, by covering it in wax. After a lot
of time and patience, he has managed to record the unique
captivating sounds of the battle between potential queens, a
behaviour known as piping, where there can be only one victor.


And we hear from Australian rockers King Gizzard And The Lizard
Wizard, about their efforts to reduce the impact of their packed
touring schedule on an increasingly fragile ecosystem.


Credits:


The BBC Earth podcast is presented by Sebastian Echeverri and
Rutendo Shackleton.


This episode was produced by Rachel Byrne and Geoff Marsh.


The researcher was Seb Masters.


The Production Manager was Catherine Stringer and the Production
Co-ordinator was Gemma Wootton.


Podcast Theme Music was composed by Axel Kacoutié, with mixing
and additional sound design by Peregrine Andrews.


The Associate Producer is Cristen Caine and the Executive
Producer is Deborah Dudgeon.


Special thanks to:


Richard Youell for sharing his insight and sound recordings from
within a beehive.


Interviewee Lisa Kirkendale from the Western Australian Museum.


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