Researchers recently reported that deep-sea octopuses lay their eggs close to geothermal springs and the warmer water is speeding up embryonic development.
A ScienceNews report specified that in their report at the virtual 2022 Ocean Sciences Meeting the scientists said the animals living in the deep sea off the coast of California breed more rapidly than expected. That reproductive sleight of hand means that "octopus moms brood" for below two years, rather than the estimated 12 years.
In 2018, researchers working off the coast of California found thousands of deep-sea octopuses known as Muusoctopus robustus assembled on a patch of the seafloor, roughly 3,200 meters underneath the surface.
Female Octopuses Brooding Clutches of Eggs
A lot of these grapefruit-sized creatures were females that brood clutches of eggs, causing researchers to dub the area, the Octopus Garden.
Nevertheless, with water temperatures hovering around a cold 1.6 degrees Celsius, growth in this garden was forecasted to be leisurely.
According to Jim Barry, a marine ecologist from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in Moss Landing, California, in octopuses, embryonic development is inclined to slow down at low temperatures. He elaborated, when one gets really cold, down almost zero, that's when brood periods are getting really long.
The record of any animal for the longest brood period, just over four years, is held by different octopus species that live in warmer water.
M. robustus that thrive in the Octopus Garden's chilly depths was, therefore, a serious candidate to snatch that title, Barry explained. He added, if one looks at its predicted brood period at 1.6 degrees Celsius, it's more than 12 years.
Not the 'Long-Haul' Moms
To validate that would be a "record stint of motherhood," Barry, together with his colleagues repeatedly visited the site from 2019 to 2021 with the use of a remotely operated vehicle.
They trained cameras at the octopus eggs which look like white fingers, to monitor their developmental rate. With one of the robotic arms of the submersible, the study authors also gently nudged dozens of octopuses aside and gauged the water temperature in their nests.
The team discovered that relatively warm water at up to 10.5 degrees Celsius, bathed all egg clutches, according to a related VN Explorer report. The study investigators realized, the female octopuses preferentially lay their eggs in streams of "geothermally heated water."
The discovery was a warning that these animals are not the long-haul moms people believed them to be, explained Barry. He added, they're virtually certain such animals are breeding far more quickly than expected.
Exploiting Thermal Energy to Enhance Reproductive Success
Based on observations of the developing eggs, the team estimated that the moms brooded for just approximately 600 days or about one year and a half.
Deep-sea ecologist Jeffrey Drazen from the University of Hawaii at Manoa who was not part of the study said, that is much "faster than predicted." He added, they are cutting a great amount of time off from their prenatal care period.
According to Barry, there is an evolutionary advantage to searching for warmer water. Shorter brood periods mean that lesser eggs are likely to be eaten up by predators.
And these octopuses appear to know that, he continued adding, they believe these animals are exploiting that thermal energy to enhance reproductive success.
As indicated in a similar Press News Agency report, just a number of marine animals like icefish in the Weddle Sea of Antarctica are known to seek out warmer conditions when they breed. However, there are perhaps, other species that do the same, explained Drazen.
The challenge is searching for them and their breeding grounds in the huge span of the deep ocean. He said he imagines that "as we keep looking, we will keep" discovering really interesting sites that are essential to certain species.
Related information about deep-sea octopuses is shown on CBS Los Angeles's YouTube video below:
RELATED ARTICLE : Watch How This Octopus Rolls Plastic Pipe Into Ocean to Save Eggs
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