How Octopuses Vanish Before Your Eyes
In How Octopuses Vanish Before Your Eyes, ecologist David Scheel teams up with a fisherman to track down the elusive day octopus, a master of disguise in the ocean. David reveals a mysterious phenomenon called "passing cloud," where colors ripple across the octopus’s skin, possibly to confuse or trap prey — an astonishing ability that still puzzles scientists! This video is excerpted from BBC’s Natural World: The Octopus in My House, a remarkable series about a professor and the extraordinary relationship he develops with an octopus when he invites it to live in his home.
Lesson Express
Q: How do octopuses use their ability to change color and texture to survive in the wild?
A: Octopuses use their color- and texture-changing abilities to blend into their environment, making it harder for predators to spot them. This camouflage also helps them avoid being seen by prey, allowing them to approach more stealthily and hunt more effectively.
Q: Considering what we know about octopus camouflage, how might scientists further investigate the "passing cloud" phenomenon to understand its purpose?
A: Scientists might conduct more controlled experiments to observe how octopuses use the "passing cloud" in different situations, such as in the presence of predators or prey. By studying these patterns, they can gather data to test the theory that this ability is meant to confuse or startle other creatures.
Q: How might the "passing cloud" effect be related to octopus communication or social behavior, if at all?
A: While the "passing cloud" effect is primarily thought to be a survival mechanism to confuse prey or predators, it could also potentially be a form of communication, signaling a change in mood or alerting other octopuses to danger. Scientists have yet to fully understand if this color-shifting effect plays a role in social interactions or if it is purely an adaptive camouflage strategy.
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In The Octopus That Invented a Mobile Home, a veined octopus in Indonesia amazes researchers with its clever survival skills. Living on sandy ocean flats, it carries coconut shells to create a portable shelter. By using these shells to hide and ambush prey, the octopus becomes one of the rare animals — less than 1% — to demonstrate tool use and thinking ahead. This video is excerpted from BBC’s Natural World: The Octopus in My House, a remarkable series about a professor and the extraordinary relationship he develops with an octopus when he invites it to live in his home.
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