Programs Sorted by Original Air Date: (click on titles for air dates and times)

Conservation and the Futures of Life (#15363; 58 minutes; 1/21/2009) Eminent conservation biologist David Woodruff illustrates the ways conservation biologists can affect the future of life on a planet experiencing global environmental degradation and climate change.

Life and Death Among the Flowers: The Perils and Secret Language of Bees (#15364; 54 minutes; 2/18/2009) Biting into a vine-ripe tomato is a familiar summer delight brought to you courtesy of bees who are crucial pollinators in natural and agricultural ecosystems. However, underlying the idyllic image of these nectar gatherers is a sometimes fiercely competitive world of sudden death and gang violence among scented blossoms. James Nieh explores this other side of bee life and the ingenious adaptations, including language, that bees have evolved in response to the perils of pollination.

Life on the Edge: Ingenious Survival Strategies in the Sonoran and Mojave Deserts (#15365; 56 minutes; 3/18/2009) The giant columnar cacti of the North American deserts serve as the homes for dozens of species of insects who depend upon these plants for their survival. UCSD's Therese Markow explores how they survive and what we learn from them.

Climate Change and Southern California Ecosystems (#15366; 52 minutes; 5/20/2009) Numerous environmental changes are occurring in Southern California. Join UCSD's Elsa Cleland and explore how changing carbon dioxide, temperatures, rainfall and wildfires alter conditions for California native plant communities and the valuable ecosystems they provide.

Ants Marching: A Biological Invasion in Your Own Backyard (#15367; 55 minutes; 6/17/2009) The introduction of species into new environments has increasingly become an economically costly and environmentally destructive phenomenon. The Argentine ant, one of the world's most widespread and damaging invasive species thrives in California, where it displaces native ants and disrupts ecosystems. Join UCSD's David Holway and explore the factors underlying the success of this notorious invader and potential strategies to limit its abundance.