The Essential Rhythm | WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode discusses chitons, unusual molluscs similar to limpets that can be seen at low tide. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the natural world. She teaches biology and sustainability at Maine Maritime Academy and is currently collaborat...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode describes bryozoans, colonial marine invertebrates commonly seen growing on kelp (among other places). Key characteristics of bryozoans are their calcareous modular exoskeletal features and the lophophore, a tentacular feeding structure that rings the mouth of each individual zooid. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist an...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode introduces tunicates, which have both a solitary and colonial form. We discuss their feeding strategy (suspension feeding) and their basic anatomy, and note the differences between solitary and colonial tunicates. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode describes a specific group of colonial animals, the hydroids (a class of the phylum Cnidaria). Characteristics of this group include stinging cells called cnidae and a complicated life history that includes asexual and sexual phases. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode introduces the basics of marine invertebrate colonial animals, including the major groups which use the strategy, and how it differs from animals on land. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the natural world. She teaches biology an...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode discusses sand lances, a small fish in the Gulf of Maine that is critical to marine food web. Issues of population variability and its impact on species like puffins are included. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the natural worl...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode describes Cragnon septemspinosa, a small shrimp found in shallow coastal water and estuaries along the western Atlantic. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the natural world. She teaches biology and sustainability at Maine Maritime...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode describes the sacoglossan sea slugs, a group of gastropods known for feeding on the cellular sap of algal cells. One species, Elysia chlorotica, is of particular interest for its ability to ingest chloroplasts intact and incorporate them into their own tissues. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley In this episode we discuss the other large group of nudibranchs found in Maine waters, the aeolid nudibranchs. Key features include the respiratory and digestive aspects of their cerata and their use of kleptocnidae as a defense tactic. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listen...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode introduces one of the groups of sea slugs found in the Gulf of Maine region: the dorid nudibranchs. Their general anatomy and reproductive signs are discussed. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the natural world. She teaches biolo...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode introduces some of the evolutionary hallmarks of shell less gastropods-the sea slugs and nudibranchs. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the natural world. She teaches biology and sustainability at Maine Maritime Academy and is cur...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley In this episode I discuss the science wing of the National Park Service and describe the long term intertidal monitoring project in Acadia National Park that I participate in, including the types of data collected and the way the data could be used for park management. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator pass...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode covers moon snails, sub tidal predatory snails of mud and sand bottoms. We describe their shell characteristics, feeding ecology and most common signs of activity (including bore holes on prey shells) as well as their ability to generate copious volumes of mucus. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicat...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode describes dog whelks, a species of carnivorous snail common in the Gulf of Maine intertidal. Topics include their feeding strategies, including using a proboscis and an accessory boring organ, and their reproductive strategy. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her list...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode describes the three common species of littorine snails (aka periwinkles) found in the northern Gulf of Maine. Common, rough and smooth periwinkles are described in terms of habitat and reproductive strategy. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ exper...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode describes basic snail anatomy in the context of the phylum Mollusca. It is a the first in a series about common sea shore creatures one might encounter in the summer at the beach. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the natural worl...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode reviews the mechanisms by which marine and freshwater fish osmoregulate, meaning, how they maintain an internal salinity different than the external salinity, whether in fresh or salt water. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the n...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode recounts the story of local alewife restoration methods, including transplanting river herring, relying on their natal fidelity to restore future fish spawning runs. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the natural world. She teaches...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode introduces the concept of osmosis, briefly discussing how it is managed by marine invertebrates. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the natural world. She teaches biology and sustainability at Maine Maritime Academy and is currentl...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode discusses the role of alewives in connecting marine and fresh water ecosystems by transporting energy and nutrients between the two. About the host: Sarah O’Malley is an ecologist, naturalist and science communicator passionate about deepening her listeners’ experiences with the natural world. She teaches biology and sustainability at Ma...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode compares and contrasts the human digestive system with the various forms of echinoderm digestion. The post Essential Rhythm 4/22/21: Echinoderm guts: A short story first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode reviews the common characteristics of echinoderms and discusses the mechanisms of arm regeneration in brittle stars. The post Essential Rhythm 4/15/21: Regenerate like a brittle star first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley The episode discusses recent sightings of lion’s mane jelly fish on the coast of Maine and recounts the generalized dimorphic life cycle of jelly fish. The post Essential Rhythm 4/8/21: Life cycle of the Scyphozoa or Where Jelly Fish come from first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode describes the unusual eating mechanism of slipper shells, a most unusual snail. Instead of foraging by grazing on microalgae and biofilms, they suspension feed, using mucous to transport food from their gills to their mouths. The post Essential Rhythm 3/18/21: Eat like a slipper shell first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Pu...

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode compares the digestive systems of two groups of early marine animals: Cnidarians (anemones and jelly fish) with Ctenophores (comb jellies) The post Essential Rhythm 3/11/21: Why you would rather be a ctenophore than a cnidarian first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .