sensory ecology of marine animals

@sensoryecology

Animals living in the oceans experience a highly varied range of environmental stimuli. An aquatic lifestyle requires an equally rich range of sensory adaptations, including some that are totally foreign to us. In this course we will examine sensory systems in marine animals from both an environmental and behavioral perspective and from the point of view of neuroscience and information systems engineering.

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montereybayaquarium

If you thought your imposter syndrome was bad, take a minute to appreciate this octopus squid Octopoteuthis deletron filmed by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)!

It’s a squid, lacking the two tentacles so typical of teuthid squid-kind and left with but eight arms like its distant octopus kin. You do you octopus squid, don’t let anybody tell you otherwise!

montereybayaquarium

Day octo says hello 🐙👋

Thanks to Vet Tech extraordinaire Marissa for sending these clips from her morning rounds!

MacWay Falls, Big Sur (thanks to seawitchesandsirens. tumblr.com)

snini-9

Happy Earth Day!

I’ve compiled some of my favorite pictures of orcas in the Salish Sea from the month of April 2015-2020. None of the pictures are mine and all belong to The Center for Whale Research

montereybayaquarium

Thank you to all of the otterly pawesome healthcare workers around the world 🦦🐾❤️!!

https://youtu.be/0vKCLJZbytU

Evidence of REM sleep has so far not been seen in octopuses, But they have a kind of sleep twitch of their own. Sleeping octopuses flicker. While they rest, some neuronal firing in their optic lobe causes their chromatophores, or pigment-containing cells, to become active. Here is the link- https://www.sciencealert.com/watch-the-mesmerising-colour-shifts-of-a-sleeping-octopus

A North Pacific right whale was located in the Bering Sea using sound imaging. It is the first seen in nearly ten years and the total population is believed to be between 30 and 50 individuals; the rarest whale in U.S. waters. Jessica Crance, a scientist with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center who was working aboard a NOAA vessel used an acoustic sound device to find the whales (pictured).

Image credit: Michael Bok

The compound eyes on the two enlarged tentacles of this fan worm from the great barrier reef evolved independently of all other compound eyes in the animal kingdom. This conclusion was reached through transcriptomic sequencing at Lund University, Sweden. Future research may provide clues about the origins of new sensory systems and how the first eyes may have arisen. Here is the source.

montereybayaquarium

Pelagic red crabs are making themselves at home in their new exhibit! Also known as tuna crabs, these crimson crustaceans washed up en masse in Monterey Bay during the 2015 El Niño.