Biological oceanographer John Ryan joins Mongabay’s podcast to discuss his team’s multiyear study that examined vocalizations of baleen whales, including blue (Balaenoptera musculus), humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), and how this science is critical for understanding their feeding habits, and thus informing their conservation.

The study found that these whales’ songs rise and fall with their food supply, which provides valuable insights into how changing ocean conditions can affect their health and guide management measures.

“Some of the research we did tracking the movement and ecology of blue whales helped our sanctuary [to] act on this long-term concern about ship strikes, and to join a program that is called Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies,” the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) researcher says.

Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, and you can also listen to all episodes here on the Mongabay website.

This episode is dedicated to the memory of Mongabay’s East Africa editor, Ochieng’ Ogodo. Read here about his life, legacy and achievements.

Audio credit: Blue and humpback whale calls featured in this episode are courtesy of MBARI and John Ryan.

Image credit: A humpback whale dips back beneath the surface of the ocean. Image courtesy of Cristina Mittermeier/SeaLegacy.

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Timecodes

(00:00) Marine heatwaves and their impact

(06:33) Analyzing whale songs

(12:30) A change in tune

(20:13) Interspecies communication?

(25:16) The reason behind the heat

(27:36) Informing conservation

(36:52) Credits

Two decades ago a group of NGOs came together with the government of Kazakhstan to save the dwindling population of saiga antelope living in the enormous Golden Steppe. Since then, the Altyn Dala Conservation Initiative has successfully rehabilitated the saiga (Saiga tatarica) from a population of roughly 30,000 to nearly 4 million. For this effort, it was awarded the 2024 Earthshot Prize in the “protect & restore nature” category.

Joining the podcast to discuss this achievement is Vera Voronova, executive director of the Association for the Conservation Biodiversity of Kazakhstan, an NGO involved in the initiative.

Voronova details the cultural and technological methods used to bring the saiga back from the brink and to help restore this massive grassland ecosystem.

“When [the] initiative [was] started, the saiga would be always like the flagship and the priority species because we did have this emergency case to recover saiga,” she says. “But the whole … picture of restoring the [steppe] was always behind this, and will be now a long term strategy.”

Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, and you can also listen to all episodes here on the Mongabay website.

Image credit: Saiga calf. Photo by Kibatov Arman/ACBK.

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Timecodes

(00:00) Saving the saiga antelope

(07:13) The Golden Steppe is massive

(13:00) Using conservation technology

(17:07) Incorporating local knowledge

(20:56) Wild horses and agriculture

(26:40) Community connection

(29:37) Credits

Media outlets are downsizing newsrooms and the audience for traditional news is in decline, but Mongabay continues to grow thanks to its impact-driven, nonprofit model. Mongabay's director of philanthropy, Dave Martin, joins the podcast this week to explain the philosophy behind Mongabay's fundraising efforts, why the nonprofit model is essential for impact-driven reporting, and how the organization ensures editorial independence.

" Those who fund us and read us, they're really expecting real-world impact and high-quality journalism. So, people are coming back to Mongabay because they're interested in what we're reporting on. There's a really high level of quality that is informing their decisions," he says.

Subscribe to or follow the Mongabay Newscast wherever you listen to podcasts, from Apple to Spotify, and you can also listen to all episodes here on the Mongabay website.

Dave can be reached at dave@mongabay.com or on LinkedIn.

Image Credit: Galapagos tortoise, Ecuador. Photo by Rhett Butler/Mongabay.

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Timecodes

(00:00) Dave’s story

(08:50) Why nonprofit news creates impact

(15:08) Funding and ethical considerations

(23:27) Explaining trust-based philanthropy

(29:10) Reflections on the Los Angeles wildfires

(32:19) Dave’s favorite animals