Nudibranch Presentation

Clown nudibranch.\Photo by N.C. Treneman.

CoastWatch is offering a series of webinars on rocky shore habitats and their denizens, with a particular focus on Oregon’s south coast.  In March’s presentation, “Predators Cloaked in Beauty,” marine biologist Nancy C. Treneman will discuss the region’s nudibranchs on Monday, March 15, at 6 p.m.  The event is free and open to all.

Nudibranchs are a colorful group of marine gastropod mollusks, sometimes casually called “sea slugs,” although other organisms also go by that term.  They shed their shells after their larval stage (the name means “naked gills”).

Nudibranchs dazzle the eye with their colors and shapes, yet the animals themselves can only see light and dark. Some species are hidden, camouflaged amongst their prey, others are stand-out eye candy!  Tiny predators of a variety of marine invertebrates, including their fellow sea slugs, nudibranchs surprise with the variety of lifestyles they lead. This presentation introduces nudibranchs, their natural history and their role in the marine ecosystem as both predator and prey. 

Nancy Treneman is a marine biologist specializing in shipworms, nudibranchs, seaweeds, microgastropods and marine debris. She conducts research projects on the rocky shores of the southern Oregon Coast from Cape Arago to Point St. George in California.  Much of her field work has been done at Cape Arago.  After a career as a high school science teacher in Gold Beach, she is now associated with the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology in Charleston.

For more information about the webinar, contact Jesse Jones, CoastWatch’s volunteer coordinator, at (503) 989-7244, jesse@oregonshores.org.

To register, go here:  https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_4O06CQtxT5m8er5zlLp7FA