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

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode discusses the phenomenon of marine biofouling and the strategies sponges have evolved to prevent being overgrown by other marine organisms. The post Essential Rhythm 3/4/21: Antifouling and sponges first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode introduces some of the basic characteristics of sponges as animals, and talks about their use as natural collectors of eDNA. The post Essential Rhythm 2/25/21: Sponge Bob is not a real sponge first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode recounts a personal story of seeing an eagle take a gull for a meal. It also discusses times of the year when eagles and gulls ignore each other for easier to catch prey. The post Essential Rhythm 2/11/21: Study nature not books first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode discusses gulls as predators of other birds, especially their impact on colonial sea birds, and the problem this poses for wildlife managers. The post Essential Rhythm 2/4/21: Gulls as predators first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode discusses top down and bottom up ecological pressures that may be impacting sea gull population levels in the Gulf of Maine. The post Essential Rhythm 1/28/21: Sea gull population trends first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley In this episode we discuss the potential use of gulls as sentinel species to track anthropogenic chemical pollution. Based on the generalist feeding habits, gulls are not ideal candidates for widespread monitoring. The post Essential Rhythm 1/21/21: Gulls as sentinels first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley In this episode we take a side trip to explain how persistent organic pollutants accumulate in food webs in the environment. The post Essential Rhythm 1/7/21: Persistent Organic Pollution first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode introduces sea gulls as a group of animals worth observing. We talk about their intelligence and feeding behavior. The post Essential Rhythm 12/17/20: Consider the gull first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode talks about the trade offs for seagulls of being generalist in terms of food source, including mixed findings by researchers on the benefits of eating human refuse. The post Essential Rhythm 12/31/20: In Praise of Generalists first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode introduces sea gulls as a group of animals worth observing. We talk about their intelligence and feeding behavior. The post Essential Rhythm 12/17/20: Consider the gull 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 physical characteristics and evolutionary trade offs embodied by Mya arenaria, the soft shell clam. The post Essential Rhythm 12/3/20: Soft Shell Clams first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode describes a research project seeking to understand the populations of Mya arenaria, the soft shell clam, through exploring the settlement and recruitment of juvenile clams on the mud flats. The post Essential Rhythm 11/12/20: My Science Happy Place first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode discusses the problematic language around invasive species with regard to inclusivity and xenophobia. The post Essential Rhythm 10/29/20: Tricky Language first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode recounts a visit to the shore at a super low tide and the discovery of an introduced tunicate covering very available surface. The post Essential Rhythm 10/22/20: Super Low Tide first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode uses the example of the two north Atlantic lobster species to explore further the implications of whether or not clearly defined species matter. The post Essential Rhythm 10/15/20: Do Species Matter? The answer….maybe first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode talks about the problem of using male pronouns as the default when the sex of an organism is unknown. The post Essential Rhythm 9/24/20: The Problem of Pronouns first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Producer/Host: Sarah O’Malley This episode discusses how common periwinkles can radically change intertidal ecosystems. The post Essential Rhythm 9/17/20: The problem with periwinkles (and us) first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

Description: This episode describes how the intertidal is conceptualized (or not). It is the zone between the datum for bathymetric depth and topographic elevation, and is complex and inconsistent in the legal definition of its ownership and management. The post Essential Rhythm 9/11/20: The Ribbon of Mystery first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .

We discuss the various difficulties of living in the intertidal zone. The post Essential Rhythm DEBUT 9/4/20: Welcome to the Jungle first appeared on WERU 89.9 FM Blue Hill, Maine Local News and Public Affairs Archives .