Latest / Street Smart Naturalist / Slime Molds

Transcript

Slime Molds · Street Smart Naturalist

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Greetings!
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: This is David B.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Williams and the podcast of my newsletter,
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: The Street Smart Naturalist,
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind.
• 0:10
  Every week I share my observations and adventures with the
• 0:13
  human and natural world
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: around Seattle,
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Today's episode dives into the fascinating world of slime molds,
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: smart,
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: movie-inspiring blobs of beauty.
• 0:26
  To learn more about why I work,
• 0:27
  please go to my website,
• 0:28
  geologywriter.com.
• 0:30
  You will also find a link to my Substack newsletter and my
• 0:33
  previous four years of newsletters,
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: as well as images tied to this week's episode.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks again for joining me on this adventure,
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: and welcome to Podcast 7 of the Street Smart Naturalist,
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Slime Molds,
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: January 9th,
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: 2025.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: 2025 began with a burst of color in our yard.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: Along the wall in our backyard,
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: I spotted a patch of brilliance,
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_00: the astonishing yellow gold of a slime mold.
• 1:02
  It looked a bit like a two-dimensional broccoli with radiating
• 1:05
  stems topped by
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: little balls,
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: each about two millimeters wide.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: The growth on fur needles,
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: cones,
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: and sticks was less diverse,
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: basically rows of lemon-colored balls.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: Overlooked,
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: often unloved,
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: and sometimes derided,
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: slime molds sound like they might be disgusting.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: After all, their name combines two substances that most people abhor.
• 1:35
  And to make matters worse,
• 1:36
  the species I saw is often called dog vomit slime mold.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: But of course, slime molds didn't name themselves.
• 1:44
  These fascinating organisms merit far more appreciation than
• 1:47
  their name implies.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Plus,
• 1:50
  they were once an inspiration for an evil alien that ate
• 1:52
  teenagers and tried to eat
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: a young Steve McQueen.
• 1:57
  Slime molds have confounded scientists since at least the 17th
• 2:00
  century when a
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: German botanist described them as a fungi.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Subsequently,
• 2:04
  a French botanist thought they were a sponge which would confer
• 2:07
  upon slime molds
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: animal status.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Others placed them in the plant kingdom.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: None of these early writers were correct.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Scientists now put slime molds in the kingdom protista,
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: labeling them as myxomycetes,
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: mycetozoa,
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: or myxogastria.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: About 1,000 species exist,
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: primarily in temperate and tropical forests,
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_00: but also in more extreme environments,
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: including perhaps an aquatic variety.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: They are neither dangerous nor bad for you or the environment.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, they help maintain a healthy ecosystem.
• 2:41
  At least one species,
• 2:43
  filigo septica,
• 2:45
  most likely the one in our yard,
• 2:46
  is eaten.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: In Veracruz,
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: Mexico,
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: it is scrambled like eggs and known as caca de luna,
• 2:52
  SPEAKER_00: or excrement of the moon,
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: arguably one of the world's finest colloquial names.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: Slime mold attracts our attention in two forms.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: The form I encountered in our yard is called a plasmodium.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: These naked blobs of protoplasm
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: are often yellow or white and spread amoeba-like in a quest for food.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: To obtain their preferred meal of bacteria, they engulf then digest it.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: A good location for food is decaying plant matter,
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: such as the Douglas fir detritus in our yard.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Plasmodia can move up to an inch per hour.
• 3:27
  The second form of slime mold can be even more beautiful than
• 3:30
  the plasmodial mold.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: These are fruiting bodies of spores known as sporangia.
• 3:37
  They often have a fungi-like shape of a stalk topped by balls,
• 3:41
  columns,
• 3:41
  or tubes.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: They can be extremely colorful and gorgeous.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately for people with aging eyes like mine,
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: sporangia are typically no more than a few millimeters tall,
• 3:52
  so you may want to bring along a hand lens to assist your
• 3:55
  viewing pleasures.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: More astonishingly,
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: plasmonia have been found to possess,
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_00: quote,
• 4:01
  a unique coupled oscillator-based sensorimotor system that may
• 4:06
  be the key to its
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: highly developed problem-solving abilities,
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: unquote.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, they have the capacity to make decisions.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Slime molds,
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: or at least the Einstein of the group,
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Fasera and Polycephalum,
• 4:19
  can find the shortest route through a maze and construct a
• 4:22
  highly efficient network
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: of nutrient-feeding tubes comparable to the Tokyo subway system.
• 4:28
  Researchers have begun to analyze the slime mold for insights
• 4:31
  into malleable
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: network systems,
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: including roads,
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: trains,
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: and computers.
• 4:37
  These problem-solving techniques of slime mold take us back to
• 4:40
  Steve McQueen.
• 4:42
  In 1958,
• 4:43
  he starred in the slime mold-inspired sci-fi schlock of The Blob.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: After a meteor crash lands, I mean, how else do they land?
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: It unleashes a malevolent red blob that begins to subsume people,
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: assimilating flesh at a remarkable speed,
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: says the soon-to-be-assimilated town doctor.
• 5:02
  Fortunately,
• 5:03
  Steve realizes what's happening and warns his fellow citizens
• 5:06
  of the danger.
• 5:07
  He also saves the day by figuring out that the blob cannot
• 5:10
  handle freezing.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: In the end,
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: the blob is airlifted to the Arctic,
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: where the ice will prevent the blob from rampaging again.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone in town lives happily ever after.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: And you wonder why Steve McQueen was a legend.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: Clearly,
• 5:25
  modern scientists who study Myxomites need to be aware of the
• 5:28
  capacities of the
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: beings they are examining.
• 5:31
  All's well if the slime molds are merely passing the time by
• 5:34
  navigating mazes
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: or working on more efficient subway systems.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: What happens if these slime molds go rogue, or worse, like the blob?
• 5:42
  We all know how easy it is to flip from simply driving a car to
• 5:45
  road rage.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: We can only hope that slime molds never learn how to drive cars.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Once again,
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: this is David B.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: Williams,
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: author and voice of The Street Smart Naturalist,
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Explorations of the Urban Kind,
• 5:58
  a weekly newsletter and podcast focusing on the human and
• 6:01
  natural world around Seattle,
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Puget Sound,
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: and the Pacific Northwest.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: For more information about my books,
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: walks,
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: and talks,
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: and a link to sign up for my newsletter and podcast,
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: check out my website,
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: geologywriter.com.
• 6:14
  And don't forget to slow down,
• 6:16
  pay attention,
• 6:17
  and enjoy the world around you.