Cephalopods are a class of marine invertebrates that the Science Friday programme recognises each June. They are among the most intelligent ocean creatures, however the majority of them only mate once before passing away. Additionally, they are used as miniature models in scientific studies of the nerve and brain systems of larger animals.
What are Cephalopods?
They have existed for 500 million years. Cephalopods are a class of marine invertebrates that the Science Friday programme recognises each June. Cephalopods have all of these traits. The well-known programme, which airs on National Public Radio, decided to team up with the neighbourhood NPR station, WLRN, to begin its annual Cephalopod Week on Friday evening at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science.
“Science Friday’s” host and executive producer, Ira Flatow, who is renowned for his ability to make complex science palatable, said, “Every year in June we celebrate the diversity and incredible intelligence of cephalopods and since this is a place where a lot of cephalopod research is going on, we couldn’t think of a better place to go than a public radio station and a university on the water.”
Cephalopods are a favourite topic for Flatow, whose voice has started the afternoon show for 30 years. He told the audience that he has always liked the waters. He was also sick of hearing about Shark Week.
Discussions expected in the Science Friday Event
Clams and sea snails are also included in the larger group of marine creatures known as mollusks, which also includes cephalopods. While octopuses, cuttlefish, and squid are some of the most popular cephalopods, the Rosenstiel School is home to the National Resource for Aplysia, which is the only facility where the California Sea Hare—Aplysia californica—a Pacific sea snail with some similarities to cephalopods—is raised in captivity.
Flatow spoke with Lynne Fieber, a professor of marine biology and ecology at the Rosenstiel School who co-directs the National Resource for Aplysia and has spent more than three decades researching the neurological systems of cephalopods and sea snails, for approximately an hour and a half.
A postdoctoral scholar in the Grosell Environmental Physiology and Toxicology Lab named Andrea Durant, who is researching how small glass squid use the ammonia in their body to maintain buoyancy in the deep ocean, was also in conversation with him. They will be discussed in a future episode of “Science Friday,” which airs on WLRN every Friday at 2 p.m. Fieber said that she is interested in the reddish-brown animals because they can be used as models to comprehend a variety of neurological functions, including learning and memory.
