Preview: Life at the Water’s Edge, Part 1 – Maine’s Intertidal Zone in Winter

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The intertidal zone along the Maine coast is a particularly harsh environment, especially in winter. See what fauna and flora manage to live there and meet its challenges.

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41 Responses So Far to “Life at the Water’s Edge, Part 1 – Maine’s Intertidal Zone in Winter”

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    denis Connaughton says:

    Fantastic educational video’s from Sarah O Malley. What a great Irish name. I note from her Bio she spent time at the Marine centre in Galway. Now that region Galway, Mayo, Clew Bay, Achill Island is the home of the O Malley clan. Where i come from. The legendary pirate Queen, Grace O Malley’s castles are all about the area. Sarah has good blood in her veins. Brilliant videos’s. Thank you.

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      Mark Nowlan says:

      Cool!! Thanks for that tidbit bio and history!

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    Walter Hobbs says:

    Here on the shores of Narragansett Bay, piles of perhaps hundreds of thousands common periwinkle shells can be found. Are they dying off, or is this part of the natural life cycle.

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    Richard Price says:

    What a great brief presentation. I had heard a good deal of this before, but never so engagingly and clearly. Beautiful choice of topics and presentation. Look forward to the next.

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    Joseph Wl Haley III says:

    This Florida Lad live in central Maine for 5 years. Sailed on the coast a few times, but never could get in that water on purpose. TOO DAMN COLD !!!!! Later lived on the south side of Cape Cod. Warm enough to wade for scallops Was glad to get back to the Gulf of Mexico.

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    mike kitchen says:

    Super interesting! What a great teacher. Her students are so lucky to have her as an instructor . Please,more videos like this

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    Tom Greaves says:

    Loved this one. Thanks. Look forward to the next one.

  • David Tew

    David Tew says:

    We see the diving ducks here all winter. I had no idea they swallow mussels whole!

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    Robert Denny says:

    A wonderfully informative video about sea life all sailors should want to know about. I wonder what differences exist between East and West Coasts? There must be many similarities, but no doubt some differences. Thanks for an excellent production!

    Rob

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    Diantha Morse says:

    Thanks Sarah, that was great! Can’t wait for part 2, 3, etc.!

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    Peter Jackson says:

    Excellent! Both informative and entertaining.

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    Thomas Buzzi says:

    What a wonderful tale of the “slipper shell”. As a child in Old Saybrook,Ct. I saw thousands of those on the beach. What an interesting story of what they do when alive. Thank you!

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    Dale Simonson says:

    OMG!! First time commenter… this is so good!
    Keep it up, for us intertidal creatures ;-)

    All the best,
    Dale

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    David Hubbard says:

    Very cool! I’d strongly recommend reading “The Edge of the Sea” by Rachel Carson (Of Silent Spring fame). She is a great writer, easy to read. Good Summer Vacation book. I read it, as well as her “Under the Sea Wind” while staying on Eggemogin Reach. And add “The Sea Around Us”. All great, not too long, and very approachable.

    Thanks guys for a great video!
    Dave

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    Robert Kunzig says:

    Thank you OCH and thank you Sarah. So well done!

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    Aren Carpenter says:

    More! You folks are the best. Now I want Ocean geology primers. Also the wild edibles couldnt be over yet could it?? Ill be playing these videos for my grandchildren at bedtime for years so…
    Thank you!

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    James Woodford says:

    Very informative and well presented,it was great. I wanted to be a Marine Biologist but life got in the way.

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    Jeff Powell says:

    A very interesting discussion. I learned a great deal despite having spent summers on the ocean on Cape Cod and Maine.
    Thanks so much

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    ROBERT ROESCH says:

    Sarah,
    This lesson was truly wonderful, thanks so much for sharing.~R

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    Harold Shanafield says:

    First time I ever really enjoyed learning about the biology of the seashore, and the titles helped me to remember the names. Thanks, and looking forward to more.

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    John Cochran says:

    Wow, great job! Looking forward to the sequel

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    Rick Brown says:

    Well done! Having spent summers and winters along Maine’s water edges, Sarah has given me new insight “life” on the edge.

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    Bill Saunders says:

    Excellent, Sarah. I look forward to your future videos about the intertidal zones in the other seasons.
    How about doing a video on the various types of marine borer that affect wooden boats and pilings. Maybe Eric and Steve can come up with affiliated videos on methods of borer prevention and which woods are more resistant and why.
    Bill

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      Dirk Faegre says:

      Great idea Bill. Go for it Off-Center Harbor. And if you do be sure to include the borer preventative Flex-Tin tested and reported by a professor in the Univ of Maryland Sea Grant program in the pages of National Fisherman some years back. He did live tests over many years of various wood preservatives in the Chesapeake Bay and Dinner Key, Florida with surprising results. Readers would surely enjoy knowing more about borers and fixes to borers.

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    Lansing Hays says:

    Wow! I hope we see more of Sarah and her commentary about the shoreline. She is terrific!

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    Christoph Harlan says:

    This was so well done! Engaging as much as informative.
    Thank you for that!
    Chris

  • Suzan Wallace

    Suzan Wallace says:

    Great stuff Sarah! Would like to see her knowledge let loose on the breeding ground of the bottom of a boat hull as an ecosystem, especially in comparison to various latitudes. The south has strange worlds living on boat bottoms!

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    Coleen Mennucci says:

    How fascinating and how much fun to watch Sarah in her element describing the water’s edge.
    Loved all the titled descriptions as she was talking about each one and the photography was simply beautiful…very nice addition to your video collection.

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      seville simonds says:

      Thank you Sarah for an enlightening view of a part of the Maine coast that we often cross and seldom take the time to understand: I look forward to more of the same.

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    Brad Babcock says:

    We are surrounded by lots of fascinating things if we just take the time to look around and learn a little about what we are looking at.

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    Mark Cole says:

    Thanks! Great video. Takes me back to my marine ecosystem courses in college. My instructors weren’t near as engaging or I might be a marine biologist now…

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    Al Winters says:

    Sarah you go girl. So enjoyed that. How about a spring time one? Waiting for the next one. 🦉

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    Joel Zackin says:

    Great! Most of us know so little of the natural world around us. The ocean and it’s different environments is so cool.
    Thank you for bringing this to us.
    Joel

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