New Skill in Octopuses; Using Sea-Floor Litter as Shelter
Most research regarding intelligence in the animal kingdom has been carried out with vertebrates. As we’ve mentioned in this article, this was the result of the notion that the presence of a spine, or a backbone, was the defining characteristic of intelligence. Therefore octopuses have been highly disregarded until recent times. Articles and research published now show the complexity of these animals with unimaginable qualities, and most importantly, their skills of avoiding predators on the seafloor.
With boneless, bulbous heads and curious, large eyes, octopuses indeed have supernatural qualities, such as the massive, slimy and tentacled creatures which attack, and effortlessly crush ships in 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea or Lovecraft’s Cthulhu, which emerges from a death-like slumber to rule the world once again, octopuses have been represented in a number of fictional stories with associations to alien anatomy.
This association is generally due to their possession of eight highly capable tentacles, their lack of bones allowing them to slide into any volume of space, and their unusual physical characteristics that allow them to adapt to their environment by changing their appearence when threatened.
Although their slimy, soft bodies cause them to have an eerie look, it serves as a great advantage for them; as long as their tiny beak fits, they can fit their body into any space. This means that they can enter the smallest gaps under the sea in order to successfully hide or escape from organisms higher on the food chain.
However, one of their most incredible abilities is their unnoticed intelligence as a result of millions of years of avoiding predators — this intelligence becomes largely evident in their mastery of camouflage. If the environment is full of sand, their body will take the light color and gritty texture of sand. If surrounded by rocks, plants, and corals, the octopuses would imitate them.
Along with this, each of their arms is lined with a significant number of suckers. These suckers can also move independently with the help of a complex bundle of neurons forming the so-called ‘mini brain’ on each arm. As a result, the octopuses can maneuver rocks or pick up shells to form a guarding plate or use them to appear as another organism.
As fascinating as it has been for scientists to discover and analyze these abilities, experts have documented that the rocks, shells, and such items that octopuses have been using for shelter have started being replaced by litter on the seafloor (1). This is an indication that their environment is changing, not due to natural causes, but due to humans’ extensive production of waste and the growing ignorance towards the importance of preserving natural habitats.
The research discussing octopuses was published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin which analyzes underwater images captured by citizens around the world. Research supervisor Maira Proiletti has stated that “[the octopodes] clearly see that there’s a lot of litter around, and it can therefore act as a kind of artificial camouflage” (2).
They have been observed to be peering out of rusted pipes, covering their heads with metal pieces like helmets in hopes of protecting themselves while slit walking, or traveling across the ocean floor using their tentacles. This not only proves their extreme ability to consider the changing of the environment and adapt to the new conditions but also rings the alarm for people on the issue of oceanic pollution. As a consequence of these adaptations, the amount of poisoning from chemicals in batteries or plastic bottles and injuries from broken glass or sharp metal containers increased in octopuses (3).
While many incidents such as this point towards pollution and the damage to other organisms, the measures that have been taken aren’t enough and are leading to what can be called artificial selection in octopodes.
Works Cited
1 — https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/octopus-ocean-garbage-litter-shelter-b2035146.html
3 — https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X22000212
