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Hanlon, Ph.D., Marine Biological Laboratory, chose to examine diet and activity periods for each species as potential resource partitioning mechanisms because they are the primary niche dimensions, usually partitioned between species along with habitat, which they previously examined. Randy Brooks, Ph.D., FAU Department of Biological Sciences and Roger T. MacArthur Campus at Jupiter.Īlong with foraging behaviors, Bennice and co-authors W. Schmidt College of Science and assistant director, FAU’s ASCEND programs to Advance STEM- Community Engagement through Neuroscience Discovery, within the Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute on the John D. Bennice, Ph.D., (aka “Octo Girl”) first author, an affiliate assistant scientist, Department of Biological Sciences, FAU Charles E. “Incorporating species-specific behavioral habits is a key tool for understanding octopus ecology and coexistence,” said Chelsea O.
![octopus girl octopus girl](https://pics.onsizzle.com/blue-waffle-octopus-girl-tubgirl-best-gore-lemon-party-12-year-o-41895605.png)
For the Atlantic longarm octopus, there are no reports on diet or foraging strategies and only two reports on activity period, which are conflicting. The diet, activity periods, and foraging strategies of the common octopus have not been studied at this South Florida lagoon and have never been studied in the presence of the Atlantic longarm octopus. Previously, the research team discovered that there is fine-scale habitat partitioning between these species, but they still inhabit the same general areas and could be utilizing multiple resource partitioning mechanisms at varying degrees. What the researchers discovered, published in the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, is that very different behaviors and habits in these two species of octopus is exactly how these species coexist in a shallow Florida lagoon- even at high densities. Rigorous fieldwork from the study included direct observations via SCUBA diving combined with active and remote video recordings. The aim of the study was to explore how Octopus vulgaris (common octopus), a medium-sized octopus that is widely distributed in tropical and temperate seas worldwide and Macrotritopus defilippi (Atlantic longarm octopus), a small species of octopus found in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and in the Caribbean, coexist by examining their foraging habits and tactics, diet, behaviors and when they are active or inactive. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University in collaboration with the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, conducted the first in situ, long-term (three years, 371 SCUBA dive hours) study in a South Florida lagoon on two species of octopus.
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Coexistence has been well studied in many species, but seldom in cephalopods like octopuses. Most famous for having eight arms (octopus comes from the Greek, octópus, which means “eight foot”), the behavioral ecology of these mysterious sea creatures, especially octopuses that share habitats, is important for understanding the role they play in community structure and biodiversity of an ecosystem. There are more than 300 species of octopus living in diverse habitats that span coral reefs, seagrass beds, sand plains and polar ice regions where they feed on lower trophic levels.