On the
October 21st show, we learned about why leaves change color during the fall in a temperate deciduous forest. Leaves are important sites of photosynthesis during the spring and summer months. The light-absorbing pigment, chlorophyll, gives leaves their green color. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in the winter in part because there is less water available for photosynthesis during the winter because of freezing temperatures. As the leaves senesce, the green pigment cholorphyll is broken down for its nitrogen, thus revealing accessory pigments such as carotenoids (oranges and yellows). Red is also often revealed, although these pigments (i.e. anthocyanins) are
thought by some to be produced during the chlorophyll breakdown in order to protect tissues against the harmful rays of the sun - just like sunscreen!
It has also been proposed that red colors may help make plants less susceptible to attack by insects.
As for the news...
For the animal sound quiz, we heard from some bird species that spend their winters in the southeast United States, including the Yellow-rumped Warbler, Ruby-crowned Kinglet (pictured right), Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Dark-eyed Junco, and White-throated Sparrow.
Music featured included The Twilight Sad, Azure Ray, Vivaldi, Olivia Tremor Control, Can, Radiohead, Joan Baez, Talking Heads and more.
On the September 30th show, I featured bands that love the Kingdom Animalia so much that they decided to make animals their namesake. We heard from the likes of Deerhunter, Grizzly Bear, Cat Stevens, Fruit Bats, Cat Power, Neil Young and Crazy Horse, Bonobo, Deerhoof, The Mountain Goats, and The Toadies. Some of you may be thinking... hmmm... I wonder why that list is so disproportionately Class Mammalia! Well, so did I. Perhaps in future shows I will do a catalog search to come up with some bands whose names reflect Class Insecta or Aves... or maybe Subphylum Chelicerata? You can be assured that I will be doing more shows in which I focus on the music because I had a blast playing these tunes. Hope you enjoy them! 
