6. The Marowak in Black : Non-natural selection

Adapt or Die! The Evolutionary Biology of Pop Culture

Episode Description:
**TRIGGER WARNING - I discuss Residential Schools and how a regional variant may be able to educate on an international level about how Canadian history has its own darkness**
Welcome to this brand new episode of Adapt or Die! The evolutionary biology of pop culture hosted by Austin Ashbaugh. The current cultural phenomenon we are discussing this season is Pokémon and todays episode is focused on the ghost type. Our evolutionary connection to the ghost type is non-natural selection.
In the Safari Zone, I get into how natural selection is almost always interfered with, what constrains evolution by natural selection, and how ghost type pokemon show examples of evolution outside of natural selection as case studies. During the pokémon professors rant, I appropriately rant about how the dark type should not be confused with evil personalities. Lastly, we will end todays episode with describing a regional variant of the phantump evolutionary line and results from our latest pokémon spectacular competition. Sit back and relax in a chair older than yourself, open an old dusty tome, and join me as we adapt or die!
Link to Google Slides of Pokémon discussed in this episode
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Have a pop culture ecology or evolutionary biology question you want answered? Submit your questions and ideas here for a chance to have your topic researched and discussed on the podcast!
Song credits: Music by Gregor Quendel from Pixabay
Logo design: Austin Ashbaugh, Chase Ashbaugh, Xander Allen
Resources cited for research in this episode:
1. Futuyma, D. J. (2010). Evolutionary constraint and ecological consequences. _Evolution_, _64_(7), 1865-1884.
2. Gould, S. J., & Lewontin, R. C. (2020). The spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian paradigm: a critique of the adaptationist programme. In _Shaping Entrepreneurship Research_ (pp. 204-221). Routledge.
3. https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/cedar/
4. https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/totem_poles/#:~:text=Totem%20poles%20are%20monuments%20created,be%20visible%20within%20a%20community.
5. https://www.serebii.net/pokedex-dp/ghost.shtml
Follow Adapt or Die! on Instagram for regular updates
Follow Austin on Bluesky and Instagram
Have a pop culture ecology or evolutionary biology question you want answered? Submit your questions and ideas here for a chance to have your topic researched and discussed on the podcast!
Song credits: Music by Gregor Quendel from Pixabay
Logo design: Austin Ashbaugh, Chase Ashbaugh, Xander Allen