Island Biogeography with Kevin Alison and John Knapp

Humans have been fascinated by islands since the writing of the earliest works of literature, but the outsized role they play in our imaginations isn't limited to fiction. Islands make up only a tiny percentage of the land on earth, but they represent about a fifth of the planet's total biodiversity.

And things stranger than fiction happen on islands, from the evolution of miniature mammoths and enormous flightless birds with no fear of humans to the illumination of the theory of evolution itself.

Join me and two experts, Kevin Alison and John Knapp, as we trundle along island roads deep into the unique ecology of Santa Catalina Island and discuss giant buckwheats, tiny foxes, and what islands have to teach us about the living world back on the mainland.

Links:

Recommended reading:

Song of the Dodo by David Quammen

Fremontia issue on CA Islands

Ways to support the pod:

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Support Golden State Naturalist on ⁠Patreon⁠ and get perks starting at $4/month.

Follow me on ⁠Instagram⁠.

My website is ⁠goldenstatenaturalist.com⁠.

Get podcast Merch.

Sources:

Penglai: https://www.npm.gov.tw/Exhibition-Content.aspx?sno=04010138&l=2

Island landmass: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1306309110

Island biodiversity: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8556160/

Plant endemism on islands: https://par.nsf.gov/servlets/purl/10565488

Global extinctions on islands and success of invasive species removal: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14982-5

Bird extinctions: https://datazone.birdlife.org/articles/many-bird-species-have-already-gone-extinct

Island role in biological and linguistic diversity: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274380594_The_Importance_of_Islands_for_the_Protection_of_Biological_and_Linguistic_Diversity

House cat origins: https://www.cnn.com/2025/11/28/science/domestic-cats-origins-ancient-dna

Miscellany:

The theme song is called “i dunno” by grapes and can be found ⁠here⁠.

Episode cover photo by Michelle Fullner

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