063: Slugs and Snails and Squid, Oh My! with Malacologist Jann Vendetti

Jann Vendetti is the Twila Bratcher Chair in Malacological Research at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. Malacology is the study of mollusks (snails, clams, octopus), and Jann's focus is snails. She was a postdoctoral researcher at California State University, Los Angeles and received her Ph.D. from UC Berkeley's Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Paleontology. She is interested in urban biodiversity of snail and slug species, both introduced and native.

In this episode we cover:

• What are the different types of terrestrial and marine mollusks?
• How is climate change impacting various mollusk populations?
• How do mollusks compare to and differ from more familiar taxa such as mammals?
• Jann's favorite mollusk - the purple sea snail!

Jann Vendetti & The Natural History Museum of LA Online:

• Jann Vendetti on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jann-vendetti-455b4412/
• City Nature Challenge 2019 - April 26, 27 & 28: http://citynaturechallenge.org/
• Natural History Museum of LA (NHMLA): https://nhm.org
• Snails and slugs Living in Metropolitan Environments (SLIME) Project: https://nhm.org/site/activities-programs/citizen-science/slime
• iNaturalist (app used in the City Nature Challenge):
  • iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inaturalist/id421397028?mt=8
  • Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.inaturalist.android&hl=en_US
  • Website: https://www.inaturalist.org/

Suggested Resources from Jann:

• Who do you look up to?

  • Dr. Eugenie Clark, the "Shark Lady": https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/sharks-rays/eugenie-clark-shark-lady

  • Sylvia Earle - Mission Blue Foundation: https://mission-blue.org/

    • Mission Blue, the documentary on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/70308278

• Suggested online resource:

  • ScienceDaily.com

Books:

• Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist
• Stephen Jay Gould:
  • The Unofficial Stephen Jay Gould Archive: http://www.stephenjaygould.org/
  • Stephen Jay Gould's books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2X4C2pc
• Natalie Angier:
  • Natalie Angier's books on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Xh79y9

 

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