Octopus
How does an octopus decide what to eat?
Under the sea, octopuses spend a lot of time hunting their dinner. Their choice of prey ranges from clams to crabs to fish. When picking from this extensive menu, do octopuses care more what the food looks like or what it smells like? Scientists now have an answer. Anastasia YandulskayaI am a PhD candidate at […]
Octopuses can learn from an iPad too
As many universities are moving this semester’s coursework online, some may be wondering if learning from a screen is really that efficient. It turns out that it works pretty well – at least for octopuses. Anastasia YandulskayaI am a PhD candidate at Northeastern University in Boston. I study regeneration of the nervous system in water […]
No nerves lost: Octopuses can regenerate their nervous system.
Octopuses have complex behaviors, like communicating with other octopuses by changing color patterns of their skin. Damage to the nerve that controls this behavior takes away the skin patterning abilities. As it turns out, this nerve can repair itself after an injury – and colorful patterns come back too. Anastasia YandulskayaI am a PhD candidate […]
Unsuccessful Octo-cultures
Have you ever tried to farm something and had it not work? That is a definite trend for famers trying to culture octopuses. In this study scientists used wild Octopus vulgaris paralarvae as a blue print for what they should expect in farm cultures. Their findings are helpful for determining better ways for successful octopus […]
Parenthood: The Most Rewarding Experience or The Ultimate Sacrifice?
Our human parents make a lot of sacrifices for us! They devote their time and energy, provide for us, invest in us (monetarily, sure, but also emotionally), nurture us, attempt to teach us, make career decisions with us in mind, and lose a lot of sleep worrying about us. However, in the marine world things […]
Cephalopods engage in colorful confrontations
Octopuses were once thought to be mostly solitary creatures, only worried about looming predators or potential mates. It turns out, octopuses can also communicate with each other by changing their body pattern and color. How does this form of communication work when octopuses decide to fight? Sean AndersonI am a first year MS candidate at […]
Seeing with skin: the secret to octopus camouflage
Capable of blending into the environment in a matter of seconds, the octopus in no normal sea creature. But just how is the octopus able to disguise itself so flawlessly? Researchers reveal that these cephalopods may be able to “see” with their skin! Ashley MarranzinoI received my Master’s degree from the University of Rhode Island […]
Deep Blue Reads: Octopus!: The Most Mysterious Creature in the Sea, by Katherine Harmon Courage
I will be honest: I almost chucked this book clear across the room while reading it. It’s not that Katherine Harmon Courage’s Octopus! is at its root a bad book. It’s not poorly written—though at times Courage relies on cutesy prose, referring to octopus digestive tracts as “poopers,” for example, or discussing neuroscientists who endeavor […]
Supermom of the depths: octopus guards its eggs for the longest period ever observed
Scientists found an octopus that guards its eggs for the longest period ever recorded. The super mother was filmed for 53 months and has produced the largest and most developed hatchlings known to date. Catarina SilvaHi! I am a PhD candidate at Victoria University of Wellington. I study the genetic structure of organisms and how […]
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