From the Melbourne newspaper The Age comes this odd cartoon from Michael Leunig. It refers to the Cephalopod conference currently underway in Tasmania (as reported by the other squidblog), but will probably only make any sense to those versed in Australian politics.
From ABC Rural News online:
Squids may help determine global warming impact: scientist
They may be the least understood animals of the ocean but cephalopods may hold the key to learning the long-term impacts of over-fishing and global warming.
Squid, octopus and cuttlefish, as they are more commonly known, are the focus of an international gathering of marine scientists in Hobart this week.
Dr George Jackson from the Institute of Antarctic and Southern Ocean Science says it is imperative we find out all we can about the humble squid.
“The other things that squids do very well because they grow so quickly and we can age them, is they’re actually very good environmental indicators,” Dr Jackson said.
“In times of El Nino or La Nina periods when the environment changes very quickly, squids can respond very quickly to that, so they might be a key species to watch as acute changes take place or longer term changes such as global warming, squid will tell us something about the environment as it changes.”
From the Independent Online:
The Thames whale died from a combination of factors including dehydration, muscle damage and a reduction of kidney function, according to preliminary post mortem results today.
It had not been able to feed for up to three days after swimming in to the Thames.
Experts said it is likely to have swum into the North Sea by mistake and then headed up the Thames because it was trying to head west back to its feeding grounds to eat squid.
According to BBC News, “Without its normal squid diet, it was unable to rehydrate”.
For those unfamiliar with this story there is more information on BBC News:
… and there are more links on the BBC site.
Squidblog & Co finally got down to the Melbourne Aquarium today to see the Monsters of the Deep exhibition. Apart from the frozen Architeuthis we were not all that impressed with the exhibition. Apart from the frozen squid and a video of some Humboldt Squid, there wasn’t much else. There was also a small display of Flashlight fish, Dumpling squid and a Sand Octopus, but they were very difficult to see, especially throught the huge crowds. There was also very little information provided, so apart from a bit of a WOW factor it wasn’t a terribly good educational experience. Overall the aquarium was sadly lacking in cephalopods - even the gift shop just had a few octopus souvenirs, and nothing at all celebrating the giant squid. They really are crying out for something like KRin’s excellent squid toys.
Still, it was well worth the visit just to see the Architeuthis Dux.
We were also pretty excited about the morning children’s activity at the aquarium: “Make your own Squid hat”. Sadly this too was a little disappointing - the squid had was just a paper cone with a couple of fins attached to the side, some eyes drawn on and some cellophane tentacles. It was certainly nothing as exciting as the Poor Mojo knitted squid hat, or the Deviant Goods Surly Squid Hat.
Dr. Steve O’Shea and Kat Bolstad have posted this excellent article on the TONMO website.
Abstract New diet information for the giant squid (Architeuthis dux) is presented based on the identification of substantial identifiable prey items recovered from the gut contents of a specimen caught in New Zealand waters. Prey items are attributed to two species of squid: Nototodarus sp. and Architeuthis dux. The incidence of Nototodarus in the stomach contents is not new, but the occurrence of Architeuthis remains is. Numerous fragments of an Architeuthis tentacular club, consisting of carpus, manus, and dactylus suckers, and the dactylic pouch, introduce the possibility of cannibalism—a hitherto unreported behaviour in this genus. A synopsis of Architeuthis diet is presented and alternatives to cannibalism (such as autophagy) are evaluated.
Keywords cannibalism; Architeuthis; Nototodarus; Mollusca; Cephalopoda; diet
The discussion on the tonmo.com forums can be found here.
Commencing December 26, 2005
Melbourne Aquarium’s newest attraction is nothing short of amazing! A 7 metre Giant Squid (Architectus dux) that has been frozen in time and forms the centrepeice of our incredible new ‘Monsters of the Deep’ exhibition.
This rare species has long been the subject of debate, myth and intrigue featuring in films such as 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea and The Abyss. Although scientist know very little of its habits, this species is known to dive to depths of greater than 1 kilometre and competes for territory with other giants of the sea including sperm whales. Earlier in 2005, for the first time ever, Japanese scientists filmed this deep-sea giant.
Our specimen was found off the southern coast of New Zealand’s South Island in 2003. The preservation and display of this mighty beast is thought to be world-first technology with Melbourne company Donohoes Ice creating the largest man-made block of ice anywhere on the planet!
Come and visit this incredible display, which also features rare footage of Mexican Humboldt Squid off the Baha coast as well as live displays of Flashlight fish, Dumpling squid and Sand Octopus.
School groups completing Self-guided and General programs will have an extended opportunity to witness this beast first-hand.
See also: Giant squid expected to set pulses racing
and: New squid on the (ice) block
**NEW: There is a good video report on the Giant Squid exhibit here.
Pharyngula is at it again, with a couple of excellent posts. We recommend you head on over there to check out the latest in squid pornography:
When male squid get together with their female friends, they have a couple of nuptial options: they can go ahead and use their charm to court the female, or they can just start poking her with tentacles full of sperm in mating frenzy. [read on …]
Oh, sure…one moment it’s all long throbbing organs pumping slickly in and out of orifices, and then the next thing you know, you’ve got a whole faceful of babies and little larvae giving you that evil demonic look. This is what happens after the squid orgies. [read on …]
New Scientist has a fascinating report on a recent article in Nature that speculates that some squid may brood their eggs before hatching:
A broody species of squid has been found to carry hundreds of its eggs under its many arms. It is the first species of squid known to look after its clutch. Usually squids simply drop their eggs on the sea floor and leave them to survive on their own, although some species of octopus are known to guard their clutch. But scientists captured on film the parental care lavished by Gonatus onyx on its eggs.
There are also a couple of interesting videos you can download from this page: a video of the squid hatching its young (6MB mpg); and the squid with its cumbersome egg sac fleeing from the submersible (6MB mpg).
The Editor’s Summary of the original Nature article is a bit more detailed:
Marine life can still surprise. Take Gonatus onyx. This squid is abundant in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, but its life history remains a mystery because spawning takes place at such great depths. ‘Gonatids’, like other squid, were thought to deposit their eggs on the sea floor and leave them to develop on their own but now they have been seen cradling eggs in their arms. These brooding squid may be an unwitting link between the deep and shallow marine ecosystems: their immobility makes them sitting ducks for whales and elephant seals diving in search of food.
Full article details:
Nature 438, 929 (15 December 2005) | doi:10.1038/438929a
Post-spawning egg care by a squid
Brad A. Seibel, Bruce H. Robison and Steven H. D. HaddockGonatus onyx is one of the most abundant cephalopods in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and is an important prey species for a variety of vertebrate predators, but a full understanding of its life history has been hampered because spawning occurs at great depths, where observation is difficult. Here we describe post-spawning egg care, or brooding, in this deep-sea squid. Our finding is unexpected because this behaviour differs from the reproductive habits of all other known squid species.
You’ve really got to hand it to the “mad scientist” PZMyers. He’s followed up his post on squid propulsion with another fascinating post on squid nuptial dances. Here he quotes a 1997 study which gives more insight into the bizarre and sophisticated reproductive rituals of squid:
The cool thing is that they seem to be lekking. Lekking is a behavior best known in a few species of birds; all the males gather together in a small area, put on elaborate displays, and the females stroll among the males flaunting their stuff to pick and choose the most desirable. It’s a competitive scheme in which many males put on a show and fail…and it’s an excellent example of sexual selection in which female mate choice is paramount.
The squid do something similar. The males gather at dawn, and swim in large circles above the mating ground. Females join in later, and they all dart and dance together, and eventually pair off, mate, and lay eggs. Then they all do it again—the nuptial dances go on all day until an hour or two after sunset.
Wikipedia also has a good entry on lek (Animal Behavior):
A lek (from Swedish lek, a noun which typically denotes pleasurable and less rule-bound games and activities) is a tournament (the males of certain species of animals for the purposes of competitive mating display), held before and during the breeding season, day after day, when the same group of males meet at a traditional place and take up the same individual positions on an arena, each occupying and defending a small territory or court. Intermittently or continuously they spar with their neighbours one at a time, or display magnificent plumage, or vocal powers, or bizarre gymnastics…
There is no mention yet of the lekking behaviour of squid in the Wikipedia entry - perhaps someone who knows more about it can update the page.
This is something all squidblog readers will want to get their hands on:
Archibald is a giant squid made out of lycra and stuffed with polyester filling. He stands 15 feet tall, has black eyes, a hidden pocket, and is red in color.
For more information check out Archibald’s websites:
Archibald would certainly make a great companion for the 25 foot long crochet giant squid. One thing squidblog has noticed is that there are a plethora of Octopus toys out there, but almost no squid toys. So it is great to see that there are more people getting into making squid.
[Source: this thread on TONMO]
Bad Behavior has blocked 1464 access attempts in the last 7 days.
