Current Event 3 11.10.11
Transparent Octopus Goes Opaque in Blink of an Eye
Deep in the ocean live two unique types of cephalopods of octopus and squid. Scientists have recently found out that these species can go from normal to transparent "in the blink of an eye." This is a useful ability to hide from their predators. Some deep sea predators swim low, and look up. If they see a shadow, then they know there's prey. These cephalopods can then turn transparent in order to escape their death. The cephalopods are able to change color so quickly because their color-changing skin cells are under neural control. The squid sees the flash of light, and that visual stimulus triggers skin pigments called chromatophores to turn red. As soon as the light is gone, the pigments vanish, leaving the cephalopods transparent except for their guts and eyes. Zylinski now wants to study how the chromatophores of the Japetella octopus change with age. Younger, smaller octopuses live higher in the water column, she said. They have fewer chromatophores and rely on transparency, which serves them well because there are fewer searchlight fish in lighter water. Mature adults live deeper, where bioluminescence is more prevalent, Zylinski said, and their greater number of chromatophores allows them to become more opaque. On board research vessels in both the Sea of Cortez and over the Peru-Chile trench, Zylinski waited for deep trawling nets to pull catches out of the water. The nets are raised with painstaking slowness, Zylinski said, so that the pressure and light changes are not so abrupt for the animals caught inside
My opinion on the translucent octopus and squid is half and half. I am glad that these species of squid have adapted and changed to avoid their predators, but this could be a bad thing. If the shark and other large fish can't capture their prey, then their population will decrease in numbers. The octopus population will then increase as their predator is weakened. The squids prey, small fish, would also decrease as their predator's population is increasing. This could turn out really bad and mess up their ocean ecosystem. But personally, I think that this is a pretty cool topic and discovery. I don't think that there has ever been a record of an animal that can go transparent in the blink of an eye, so this is a really unique discovery.
Pappas, Stephanie . 2011. Monday January 16, 2012 <http://news.yahoo.com/transparent-octopus-goes-opaque-blink-eye-1708510319.html>.
Deep in the ocean live two unique types of cephalopods of octopus and squid. Scientists have recently found out that these species can go from normal to transparent "in the blink of an eye." This is a useful ability to hide from their predators. Some deep sea predators swim low, and look up. If they see a shadow, then they know there's prey. These cephalopods can then turn transparent in order to escape their death. The cephalopods are able to change color so quickly because their color-changing skin cells are under neural control. The squid sees the flash of light, and that visual stimulus triggers skin pigments called chromatophores to turn red. As soon as the light is gone, the pigments vanish, leaving the cephalopods transparent except for their guts and eyes. Zylinski now wants to study how the chromatophores of the Japetella octopus change with age. Younger, smaller octopuses live higher in the water column, she said. They have fewer chromatophores and rely on transparency, which serves them well because there are fewer searchlight fish in lighter water. Mature adults live deeper, where bioluminescence is more prevalent, Zylinski said, and their greater number of chromatophores allows them to become more opaque. On board research vessels in both the Sea of Cortez and over the Peru-Chile trench, Zylinski waited for deep trawling nets to pull catches out of the water. The nets are raised with painstaking slowness, Zylinski said, so that the pressure and light changes are not so abrupt for the animals caught inside
My opinion on the translucent octopus and squid is half and half. I am glad that these species of squid have adapted and changed to avoid their predators, but this could be a bad thing. If the shark and other large fish can't capture their prey, then their population will decrease in numbers. The octopus population will then increase as their predator is weakened. The squids prey, small fish, would also decrease as their predator's population is increasing. This could turn out really bad and mess up their ocean ecosystem. But personally, I think that this is a pretty cool topic and discovery. I don't think that there has ever been a record of an animal that can go transparent in the blink of an eye, so this is a really unique discovery.
Pappas, Stephanie . 2011. Monday January 16, 2012 <http://news.yahoo.com/transparent-octopus-goes-opaque-blink-eye-1708510319.html>.