Free Daily Podcast Summary
Natural Resources University: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Collaboration of land-grant universities
Natural Resources University is a podcast network focused on delivering science-based natural resource management. The series housed within this network aim to deliver expert-based knowledge for their corresponding genre of natural resource management.
Latest Episodes
The most recent episodes — sign up to get AI-powered summaries of each one.
- 6 days ago1h 9m
How to transform fields into brooding cover | Wild Turkey Science #612
We break down native early successional (old field) management for turkeys — how to identify the plants that really matter, when and why to use fire versus spot-spraying, and how to keep a field cycling through the diverse structure that makes great brooding cover. Resources: iNaturalist Seek App We manage DEER food plots for TURKEYS (video) Enter our raffle for a chance to win a Wild Turkey Science hunt with Dr. Will Gulsby and Dr. Marcus Lashley at the historic Westervelt Hunting Lodge: https://e.givesmart.com/events/Qam/ We've launched our second online wild turkey course ! Enroll in Wild Turkey Manager: Biology, History & Habitat to learn about the principal biology, mating, behavior, food selection, human dimensions, hunter interactions, and historical context of wild turkeys. This course is accredited by the Society of American Foresters as a Category 2 course worth 7 Continuing Forestry Education credits. Participants can also earn up to 5 CEUs in Category I of The Wildlife Society's Certified Wildlife Biologist Program. Enroll now: https://tinyurl.com/WildTurkeyManagerBio Be sure to check out our first comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now! Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube Want to help wild turkey conservation? Please take our quick survey to take part in our research! Do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave us a review or send us an email at wildturkeyscience@gmail.com! Watch these podcasts on YouTube Please help us by taking our (quick) listener survey - Thank you! Check out the DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube Want to help support the podcast? Our friends at Grounded Brand have an option to donate directly to Wild Turkey Science at checkout. Thank you in advance for your support! Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear! This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org. Music by Artlist.io Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak
- 1 weeks ago30 min
Fish Kills: My Fish are Dead – Now What?!? | Fins, Fur, & Feathers #611
Fish kills can result in detrimental losses in ponds but dead fish are just part of the bigger story. Join Joe and Drew as they discuss how to identify a fish kill, common fish kill causes, and how to prevent fish kills in your pond. Dr. Joe Gerken and Dr. Drew Ricketts are extension specialists and faculty members in the Wildlife and Outdoor Enterprise Management Program at Kansas State University. Find out more about the program at http://hnr.k-state.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/wildlife-outdoor-management.html Watch the podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@KSEWildlife
- 1 weeks ago1h 27m
What we've learned in four years of turkey science | Wild Turkey Science #610
We step back to synthesize what's changed in wild turkey science since the show began and where the biggest open questions still remain. Resources: Huang, M. H., Demarais, S., Brookshire, W. C., & Strickland, B. K. (2022). Analysis of supplemental wildlife feeding in Mississippi and environmental gastrointestinal parasite load. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 9, 995437. Huang, M. H., Demarais, S., Strickland, B. K., & Brookshire, W. C. (2022). Identifying aflatoxin exposure risk from supplemental feeding of deer. The Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 58(2), 384-388. Impacts of vegetation structure on hen survival and nest success | Ep 195 Landscape level habitat corridor sustains turkeys | Ep 158 Longer the snood, bigger the brood | Ep 68 Population dynamics & season dates in Mississippi | Ep 02 REV and LPDV: New research on turkey disease | Ep 182 Rosenberg, K. V., et al. (2019). Decline of the North American avifauna. Science, 366(6461), 120-124. Shea, S. A., et al. (2026). Retroviral Infections Affect Survival and Clutch Size of Female Wild Turkeys. Ecology and Evolution, 16(4), e73383. Smith, C. R., et al. (2026). Annual survival and resource selection of juvenile male wild turkeys in central Tennessee. The Journal of Wildlife Management, e70255. Turner, M.A., et al. (2026). Vegetation composition and structure influences female wild turkey survival during incubation. Journal of Wildlife Management. Enter our raffle for a chance to win a Wild Turkey Science hunt with Dr. Will Gulsby and Dr. Marcus Lashley at the historic Westervelt Hunting Lodge: https://e.givesmart.com/events/Qam/ We've launched our second online wild turkey course ! Enroll in Wild Turkey Manager: Biology, History & Habitat to learn about the principal biology, mating, behavior, food selection, human dimensions, hunter interactions, and historical context of wild turkeys. This course is accredited by the Society of American Foresters as a Category 2 course worth 7 Continuing Forestry Education credits. Participants can also earn up to 5 CEUs in Category I of The Wildlife Society's Certified Wildlife Biologist Program. Enroll now: https://tinyurl.com/WildTurkeyManagerBio Be sure to check out our first comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now! Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow UF Game Lab @u
- 1 weeks ago1h 27m
Partners on the Land | Wild Ag #609
Implementing conservation practices like prairie strips or cover crops on your farm might feel like an overwhelming or confusing process. But private lands biologists and other conservation professionals are an invaluable resource to help farmers and landowners navigate the process and choose the best options. This month, we are joined by longtime Nebraska farmer Ed Olson along with Rob Peterson, a Farm Bill Wildlife Biologist with Pheasants Forever. From decision-making and motivations to mishaps and problem-solving, we get a unique inside look into the working relationship between a farmer and biologist. Whether you are a farmer, landowner, conservation professional, or just interested in the interplay of conservation and working lands, this is a unique episode you won't want to miss. Resources: Pheasants Forever: Find a Biologist USDA: Conservation Reserve Program Sand County Foundation: Ed and Leta Olson recieve Leopold Conservation Award Ed Olson Rob Peterson [website] Dr. Andrew Little [academic profile, @awesmlabdoc] Nathan Pflueger [website] AWESM Lab [website, @awesmlab] Nebraska Pheasants Forever [website, @pheasants quailforever of ne] Watch these podcasts on YouTube If you enjoy this podcast, leave a rating and review so others can find us! We are dedicated to bringing important information and new ideas to listeners just like you. Help us keep WildAg going by donating to the podcast: https://nufoundation.org/fund/01155570/ Or, learn more about how your organization can sponsor episodes: https://awesmlab.unl.edu/wildag-sponsorship/ Music by Humans Win Produced and edited by Iris McFarlin
- 2 weeks ago59 min
Chemical Thinning and Mixed-Species Forestry in the US South | Timber University #608
Forest management decisions are made under biological, financial, and market conditions that can change considerably during the life of a stand. In this episode of Timber University, Dr. Adam Polinko, formerly of Mississippi State University (now at Northern Arizona University), joins us to discuss two applied research projects examining how landowners and foresters can respond to those challenges: chemical thinning in overstocked pine stands and the long-term development of mixed cherrybark oak and sweetgum plantings. Dr. Polinko's research focuses broadly on silviculture and forest stand dynamics, including how forests respond to disturbances such as thinning, harvesting, and other management interventions. The first part of the conversation examines whether chemical thinning could help landowners manage dense pine stands that can no longer be commercially thinned because of weak pulpwood markets. Dr. Polinko explains how a modified "hack-and-squirt" treatment can be used to thin a stand from below by killing smaller trees in place, opening growing space for larger trees, and accelerating a process that would otherwise occur gradually through natural self-thinning. We discuss how chemical thinning differs from conventional row thinning and why it may be particularly useful on smaller properties where logging access, tract size, or limited markets make a commercial thinning difficult. Because the work can be completed by people on foot using relatively simple equipment, it could give some landowners a practical way to place an overstocked stand back on a more productive growth trajectory. The episode also explores the risks and trade-offs of killing trees in place. The research team is examining how treatment timing affects Ips engraver beetles, southern pine beetles, tree stress, and mortality. The study will also evaluate how standing dead trees, dry needles, fallen woody material, and changing fuel loads may influence wildfire behavior. At the same time, increased sunlight reaching the forest floor could stimulate vegetation that provides additional forage and habitat benefits for wildlife. The second half of the episode turns to a mixed-species study established in the early 1980s to examine the development of planted cherrybark oak and sweetgum. The study was designed to test observations from natural stands suggesting that sweetgum may initially grow as fast as, or faster than, cherrybark oak, while the oak eventually overtakes it. Recent measurements indicate that sweetgum remained highly competitive for approximately the first 25 years, after which its height growth began to level off, and the cherrybark oak pulled ahead. The result today is a stand containing large, high-quality cherrybark oak and much smaller sweetgum. Dr. Polinko explains that sweetgum may provide a valuable "training effect" for cherrybark oak. Competition between the species can help the oak maintain apical dominance, straighter stems, smaller branches, and better overall form than might develop in a widely spaced, single-species oak planting. The study also provides a rare opportunity to compare mixed stands directly with nearby pure sweetgum and mostly pure cherrybark oak stands on the same site. The conversation highlights why mixed-species forestry may offer more than biological benefits. Growing different species together can diversify future management options, reduce dependence on a single timber market, and give landowners greater flexibility when deciding which species to thin, retain, or manage as the final crop. Because forest rotations are long and markets can change much faster than stands can be replaced, this kind of biological and financial diversification may become increasingly valuable. This episode is a useful listen for forest landowners, consulting foresters, wildlife managers, forestry students, researchers, Extension professionals, and anyone interested in pine thinning, mixed-species management, stand dynamics, forest health, and the challenge of managing forests under changing market conditions. Questions for Timber University can be sent to timberuniversity@gmail.com
- 2 weeks ago1h 3m
What Affects Jake Survival? | Wild Turkey Science #607
Dr. Craig Harper of the University of Tennessee rejoins us to share results from recent research assessing annual survival and resource selection of juvenile males in Tennessee. Resources: Bones, J. T., et al. (2026). Vegetation response varies by season of burning in pine woodlands across the southeastern US. Fire Ecology, 22(1), 19. Pollentier, C. D., et al. (2014). Survival and productivity of eastern wild turkey females in contrasting landscapes in Wisconsin. The Journal of Wildlife Management, 78(6), 985-996. Quehl, J. O., et al. (2024). Assessing wild turkey productivity before and after a 14-day delay in the start date of the spring hunting season in Tennessee. Ecology and Evolution, 14, e11390. Smith, C. R., et al. (2026). Annual survival and resource selection of juvenile male wild turkeys in central Tennessee. The Journal of Wildlife Management, e70255. Stevenson, E. R., et al. (2019). Resource selection by coyotes (Canis latrans) in a longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystem: effects of anthropogenic fires and landscape features. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 97(2), 165-171. Wilhelm, S. R., et al. (2026). Fire frequency and timing influence bee–flower interactions: a case study from an oak‐pine savanna restoration on the Cumberland Plateau. Restoration Ecology, e70533. Enter our raffle for a chance to win a Wild Turkey Science hunt with Dr. Will Gulsby and Dr. Marcus Lashley at the historic Westervelt Hunting Lodge: https://e.givesmart.com/events/Qam/ We've launched our second online wild turkey course ! Enroll in Wild Turkey Manager: Biology, History & Habitat to learn about the principal biology, mating, behavior, food selection, human dimensions, hunter interactions, and historical context of wild turkeys. This course is accredited by the Society of American Foresters as a Category 2 course worth 7 Continuing Forestry Education credits. Participants can also earn up to 5 CEUs in Category I of The Wildlife Society's Certified Wildlife Biologist Program. Enroll now: https://tinyurl.com/WildTurkeyManagerBio Be sure to check out our first comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now! Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube Want to help wild turkey conservation? Please take our quick survey to take part in our research! Do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave us a review or send us an email at wildturkeyscience@gmail.com! Watch these podcasts on YouTube Please help us by taking our (quick) listener su
- 3 weeks ago36 min
Mourning Doves | Fins, Fur, & Feathers #606
Mourning doves are a popular migratory game bird to hunt in Kansas and many other states in the U.S. Kansas alone accounts for about 630,000 harvested mourning doves per year. Join Drew and Joe as they discuss population trends, diet, habitat, and hunting of doves. Dr. Joe Gerken and Dr. Drew Ricketts are extension specialists and faculty members in the Wildlife and Outdoor Enterprise Management Program at Kansas State University. Find out more about the program at http://hnr.k-state.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/wildlife-outdoor-management.html Watch the podcast on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/@KSEWildlife
- 3 weeks ago53 min
We're talking about sperm, folks | Wild Turkey Science #605
In this episode, we dive into turkey reproductive physiology, focusing on how photostimulation and photorefractoriness influence turkey breeding cycles. Resources: Dawson, A., et al. (2001). Photoperiodic control of seasonality in birds. Journal of biological rhythms, 16(4), 365-380. Turkey Predators | Ep 06 Enter our raffle for a chance to win a Wild Turkey Science hunt with Dr. Will Gulsby and Dr. Marcus Lashley at the historic Westervelt Hunting Lodge: https://e.givesmart.com/events/Qam/ We've launched our second online wild turkey course ! Enroll in Wild Turkey Manager: Biology, History & Habitat to learn about the principal biology, mating, behavior, food selection, human dimensions, hunter interactions, and historical context of wild turkeys. This course is accredited by the Society of American Foresters as a Category 2 course worth 7 Continuing Forestry Education credits. Participants can also earn up to 5 CEUs in Category I of The Wildlife Society's Certified Wildlife Biologist Program. Enroll now: https://tinyurl.com/WildTurkeyManagerBio Be sure to check out our first comprehensive online wild turkey course featuring experts across multiple institutions that specialize in habitat management and population management for wild turkeys. Earn up to 20.5 CFE hours! Enroll Now! Dr. Marcus Lashley @DrDisturbance, Publications Dr. Will Gulsby @dr_will_gulsby, Publications Turkeys for Tomorrow @turkeysfortomorrow UF Game Lab @ufgamelab, YouTube Want to help wild turkey conservation? Please take our quick survey to take part in our research! Do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Leave us a review or send us an email at wildturkeyscience@gmail.com! Watch these podcasts on YouTube Please help us by taking our (quick) listener survey - Thank you! Check out the DrDisturbance YouTube channel! DrDisturbance YouTube Want to help support the podcast? Our friends at Grounded Brand have an option to donate directly to Wild Turkey Science at checkout. Thank you in advance for your support! Leave a podcast rating for a chance to win free gear! This podcast is made possible by Turkeys for Tomorrow, a grassroots organization dedicated to the wild turkey. To learn more about TFT, go to turkeysfortomorrow.org. Music by Artlist.io Produced & edited by Charlotte Nowak We're talking about sperm, folks | #198 In this episode, we dive into turkey reproductive physiology, focusing on how photostimulation and photorefractoriness influence turkey breeding cycles. Resources:<
About Natural Resources University
Natural Resources University is a podcast network focused on delivering science-based natural resource management. The series housed within this network aim to deliver expert-based knowledge for their corresponding genre of natural resource management.
Customized Recaps
AI-powered recaps with compact key takeaways, quotes, and insights.
Straight to Your Inbox
Get key takeaways from Natural Resources University in a 5-minute read.
Save Hours Every Week
Stay current on your favorite podcasts without falling behind.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Podzilla's Natural Resources University daily summary?
It's a free AI-powered email that summarizes new episodes of Natural Resources University as soon as they're published. You get the key takeaways, notable quotes, and links & mentions — all in a quick read.
How does the Natural Resources University podcast summary work?
When a new episode drops, our AI transcribes and analyzes it, then generates a personalized summary tailored to your interests and profession. It's delivered to your inbox every morning.
Is this an official Natural Resources University product?
No. Podzilla is an independent service that summarizes publicly available podcast content. We're not affiliated with or endorsed by Collaboration of land-grant universities.
Can I get summaries of other podcasts too?
Absolutely! The free plan covers up to 3 podcasts. Upgrade to Pro for 15, or Premium for 50. Browse our full catalog at /podcasts.
How often does Natural Resources University release new episodes?
Natural Resources University publishes every few days. Our AI generates a summary within hours of each new episode.
What topics does Natural Resources University cover?
Natural Resources University covers topics including Science, Natural Sciences. Our AI identifies the specific themes in each episode and highlights what matters most to you.
Start getting Natural Resources University summaries tomorrow morning.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.
Free forever for up to 3 podcasts. No credit card required.