BROOKINGS, Ore. – What do barnacles, Dungeness crabs, and giant sea spiders have in common? How about snails with iron shells, vampire squid, and “pill bugs” the size of cats?
Join Bill Gorham, Marine Biologist, this July as he presents four lectures featuring the amazing variety of life that thrives in the ocean off the Oregon Coast.
This free lecture series will be held Thursdays at 1:00 pm during the month of July in the Community Room on Southwestern Oregon Community College’s Curry Campus, 96082 Lone Ranch Parkway (off Highway 101), Brookings. Everyone is welcome to attend.
- July 9 – Mollusks: snails, clams, octopuses, and their relatives
- July 16 – Crustaceans: crabs, beach hoppers, krill, shrimp, barnacles and their kin
- July 23 – Echinoderms: sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and their relatives, living and fossils
- July 30 – Sponges, anemones, jelly fish, and the many, many types of worms and other weird sea critters
Over 95 % of marine animals are invertebrates. They inhabit every zone of the ocean from the highest intertidal to the deepest trenches, range in size from microscopic plankton to giant squid, and comprise an intricate web of life unseen by most humans.
The talks will highlight key features that many of the animals of each group share and will also present examples of highly specialized and unique abilities evolved to survive and thrive in extreme environments or uniquely novel ways. Bill will share specimens of some local marine invertebrates for people to look at and touch. These talks will cover animals that most people will recognize but will also talk about the bizarre and weird animals that live in highly novel ways. Explore the phenomenal diversity of life in the oceans beyond what we see on our plates or in tide pools.
Bring a friend and a brown bag lunch. For more information contact the Curry Campus at 541-813-1667.
