Squid Run Video from San Diego/La Jolla

[uzun]

I did a short video featuring footage from La Jolla shores shot over the past month or two, including a lot of footage from the recent squid run taken on the morning and evening of Dec 9th. It’s 1080p if you want to change the resolution on youtube (where it says 360p on the lower right part of the video frame).

A few of the more common Cephalopod species are featured but mostly just Market Squid.

-Roger

 

[ieatfalalfel]

This is a great video. Whats the first song?

 

[tonmo]

WOW - that is one of the best ceph videos I've ever seen. The quality is awesome and the footage matches it. Thanks very much for sharing! I'm off to Facebook / Tweet / Slideshow this. Thanks!!

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

Hmm? Usually they get together in big congregations like that for mating purposes. If you got lucky you may have seen quite a number of mating activity. If you took this during late October, that might explain a lot of things that's going on in the video. October is mainly known as Market Squid mating season. I believe it goes the same for early spring, I can't say for sure. Very nice video though, decent footages of Market Squid that are at least over 1000p are very hard to come by.

 

[tonmo]

Yes, there's definitely some mating activity going on in that video, maybe some cannibalism too? I like the interactions between the octopus and squid - really incredible video, and excellent quality.

What species of octopus is that at the beginning?

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

maybe some cannibalism too?

Cannibalism is extremely common in this species, especially if food is low. You think since the seasons are near or close to winter may have influenced the amount of food at the time? What do you think. Now when it comes to squid cannibalism. It would make very much sense that there would be at least some cannibalism activity in a huge gathering like this, not to mention the majority of the gathering of squid happen to be sexually mature and an adult. The reason why I mention that is because thats usually the best time to find the largest squid to eat. I'm not sure if Loligo opalescens really do have the 'big fat females' because most comparisons I've seen happen to be the other way around. I don't have a lot of evidence to back up the statement I'm about to say...but. IMO I think cannibalism is more common when it comes to organisms that happen to be in the lower part of the food chain. In this case, market squid is way down low.

And thank god, there's not a whole lot of Squid fishing during October or else the species is sure to collapse.

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

This video is different though, usually when Squids mating their tentecles dispay red coloration unlike the video.

 

[Cuddlycuttlefsh]

Now that I've seen this, I'm still puzzled on whether squid drop dead after they mate. There's no tending the young or protecting the eggs kind of thing when it comes to the majority of the squid. But, to my knowledge. Squid live on after mating and mate multiple times unlike octopi. But that's usually a few months after the start of the new generation of squid. There's the early spring mating season, that's typically when the newer generation of squid are already becoming sexually mature and start mating. October is dooms day for the last generation, and later in the winter you'll probably not see any squid at all. Since eggs hatch faster in warmer waters, that also adds another month or two in not seeing any squid for a couple of months or so. February it's the other way around, they'll hatch like crazy.

 

[DWhatley]

Did you see attacks on live squid or was everyone, as it appeared, scavaging?

Do you have the Bobtailed squid in CA or is the first part from another adventure?

 

[uzun]

This squid run video was taken the morning and evening of Dec 9, 2011. Squid runs, which involve massive mating aggregates occur here off La Jolla yearly, usually from Fall to Winter. Each year is different, some years not much of a showing at all, some years tons of squid for weeks. This year is larger than most. The squid do indeed die after mating, in my experience. This species at least seems to live hard and die quite young, after they breed.

 

[uzun]

All the footage is from La Jolla / San Diego CA taken off shore dives. There are Stubby Squid here, which is the species you are referring to as bobtailed squid. We call them Stubby Squid and they are much more common further north, like Puget Sound and Northern CA. They do occur here but they are deeper and you don't encounter them as often as you do up there.

There is a cormorant eating the squid towards the end of the night segment. There are a lot of animals that feed on the mating squid, dolphins, sea lions, sea birds, etc. Also a lot that scavenge on the dead and dieing squid in the morning after. It's often so thick with squid that the predators dart in and out before you are able to get a camera on them. The squid are so thick if a sea lion were 1 foot from you it would be obscured by the mass of squid between the two of you.

 

[GPO87]

This is a great video. Whats the first song?

The first song is "Hall of the Mountain King" from Peer Gynt

Also, the first 25 seconds, are cinematic genuis! I could watch tiny cephs scurrying around ALL day!