External Articles - Behavior and Intelligence Experiments/Observations

[DWhatley]

Are Octopuses Smart?
Live Science Sarah B. Puschmann 2017
Intelligence vs natural behavior with observations by @Neogonodactylus

 

[tonmo]

Octopus engineering, intentional and inadvertent
Taylor & Francis Online
David Scheel, P. Godfrey-Smith (@pgs), S. Linquist, S. Chancellor, M. Hing & M. Lawrence

ABSTRACT

We previously published a description of discovery of a site where octopuses live in an unusually dense collection of individual dens near one another in a bed of scallop shells amid a rock outcrop. We believe the shell bed is an extended midden, accumulated over time by individual octopuses returning to their dens with food. Here we consider what aspects of material collection, den maintenance, and aggregation are intentional for the octopuses, versus inadvertent consequences of individual decisions. Collection of prey items, transport of prey to the den, den excavation, and collection and use of non-prey materials at the den appear to be intentional behaviors. The occurrence of many dens in close aggregation appears to be an inadvertent outcome of the availability of food and the risk of predation in the habitat. Popular media reports have described this site as an ‘city’ designed by octopuses, but that is not an accurate description of the site.

 

[DWhatley]

Amazing Octopus - Most Intelligent Animal - Series Of Tests - Must Watch- Documentary HD 2017

PlanetEarth HD Documentaries
Amazing Documentary about the unbelievable intelligence of these animals, in this video you will see how these creatures can manipulate their environment, and use there high IQ and brain power to solve a number of situations presented to them by scientists, enjoy!!

 

[DWhatley]

Cephalopods in Action
Vecchione, Michael and Clyde F.E. Roper 1991

Cephalopods observed from submersibles in the western North Atlantic.
Bulletin of Marine Science, 49(1-2):433-445.

ABSTRACT: Records of 158 observations of cephalopods from submersibles, primarily the JOHNSON SEA-LINK, have been compiled through collaboration with several investigators. These observations include 118 videotape sequences, 58 collected specimens, and numerous shipboard photographs of live animals. At least 33 species have been observed to date; a few species have been observed repeatedly and could be good subjects for directed studies. The methods developed for in situ observation and subsequent collection of specimens with little or no damage allow descriptions of behavior, morphology, physiology, and distribution that are not possible with other methods of collecting.

 

[DWhatley]

Cephalopod brains: an overview of current knowledge to facilitate comparison with vertebrates
Shuichi Shigeno, Paul Andrews, Giovanna Ponte, Graziano Fiorito 2018 (subscription Frontiers in Physiology)

Cephalopod and vertebrate neural-systems are often highlighted as a traditional example of convergent evolution. Their large brains, relative to body size, and complexity of sensory-motor systems and behavioral repertoires offer opportunities for comparative analysis. Despite various attempts, questions on how cephalopod ‘brains’ evolved and to what extent it is possible to identify a vertebrate-equivalence, assuming it exists, remain still unanswered. Here, we summarize recent molecular, anatomical and developmental data to explore certain features in the neural organization of cephalopods and vertebrates to explore to what extent an evolutionary convergence is likely. Furthermore, and based on whole body and brain axes as defined in early-stage embryos using the expression patterns of homeodomain-containing transcription factors and axonal tractography, we describe a critical analysis of cephalopod neural systems exploring similarities with the cerebral cortex, thalamus, basal ganglia, midbrain, cerebellum, hypothalamus, brain stem and spinal cord of vertebrates. Our overall aim is to promote and facilitate further, hypothesis-driven, studies of cephalopod neural systems evolution.

 

[DWhatley]

Cephalopod Brains: An Overview of Current Knowledge to Facilitate Comparison With Vertebrates
Shuichi Shigeno1, Paul L. R. Andrews, Giovanna Ponte, Graziano Fiorito 2018 (Frontiers in Physiology, Full article)

Cephalopod and vertebrate neural-systems are often highlighted as a traditional example of convergent evolution. Their large brains, relative to body size, and complexity of sensory-motor systems and behavioral repertoires offer opportunities for comparative analysis. Despite various attempts, questions on how cephalopod ‘brains’ evolved and to what extent it is possible to identify a vertebrate-equivalence, assuming it exists, remain unanswered. Here, we summarize recent molecular, anatomical and developmental data to explore certain features in the neural organization of cephalopods and vertebrates to investigate to what extent an evolutionary convergence is likely. Furthermore, and based on whole body and brain axes as defined in early-stage embryos using the expression patterns of homeodomain-containing transcription factors and axonal tractography, we describe a critical analysis of cephalopod neural systems showing similarities to the cerebral cortex, thalamus, basal ganglia, midbrain, cerebellum, hypothalamus, brain stem, and spinal cord of vertebrates. Our overall aim is to promote and facilitate further, hypothesis-driven, studies of cephalopod neural systems evolution.

 

[DWhatley]

SLC6A4 binding site and acute prosocial effects of (+/-)-3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) are evolutionarily conserved in Octopus bimaculoides.
Gul Dolen, Eric Edsinger 2018 (pdf available from bioRxiv)

Abstract
Human and octopus lineages are separated by over 500 million years of evolution, and show divergent anatomical patterns of brain organization. Moreover, while humans exhibit highly complex social behaviors, octopuses are thought to be largely asocial and solitary. Despite these differences, growing evidence suggests that ancient neurotransmitter systems are shared across vertebrate and invertebrate species, and in many cases enable overlapping functions. Here we provide evidence that, as in humans, the atypical amphetamine derivative (+/-)-3,4-methylendioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) enhances acute prosocial behaviors in Octopus bimaculoides. This finding is paralleled by the evolutionary conservation of the serotonin transporter (SERT, encoded by the Slc6A4 gene) binding site of MDMA in the O. bimaculoides genome. Taken together, these data provide evidence that the neural mechanisms subserving social behaviors exist in O. bimaculoides, and indicate that the role of serotonergic neurotransmission in regulating social behaviors is evolutionarily conserved.

 

[DWhatley]

Variability in the “stereotyped” prey capture sequence of male cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) could relate to personality differences
Francesca Zoratto, Giulia Cordeschi. Giacomo Grignani. Roberto Bonanni. Enrico Alleva, Giuseppe Nascett, iJennifer A. Mather. Claudio Carere 2018 (subscription Animal Cognition via Springer)

Abstract
Studies of animal personality have shown consistent between-individual variation in behaviour in many social and non-social contexts, but hunting behaviour has been overlooked. Prey capture sequences, especially in invertebrates, are supposed to be quite invariant. In cuttlefish, the attack includes three components: attention, positioning, and seizure. The previous studies indicated some variability in these components and we quantified it under the hypothesis that it could relate to personality differences. We, therefore, analysed predation sequences of adult cuttlefish to test their association with personality traits in different contexts. Nineteen subjects were first exposed to an “alert” and a “threat” test and then given a live prey, for 10 days. Predation sequences were scored for components of the attack, locomotor and postural elements, body patterns, and number of successful tentacle ejections (i.e. seizure). PCA analysis of predatory patterns identified three dimensions accounting for 53.1%, 15.9%, and 9.6% of the variance and discriminating individuals based on “speed in catching prey”, “duration of attack behaviour”, and “attention to prey”. Predation rate, success rate, and hunting time were significantly correlated with the first, second, and third PCA factors, respectively. Significant correlations between capture patterns and responsiveness in the alert and threat tests were found, highlighting a consistency of prey capture patterns with measures of personality in other contexts. Personality may permeate even those behaviour patterns that appear relatively invariant.