Octopuses are having a moment
Meet Tsunami, the 'Grab-Slap-Sucker Up' octopus at the Georgia Aquarium
Welcome to The Everyday Scientist. Today, I’m announcing a few changes to the newsletter. Scroll to the bottom now if you can’t wait to see what’s different.
Octopuses, undeniably brainy, has been known to open jars, remember faces, and solve mazes. They can even high-five each other. The UK’s Natural History Museum, as well as wildlife experts, rank the octopus as one of the smartest animals of any species. I started thinking more about the biology of this unusual eight-legged invertebrate last week after finishing the bestselling 2022 book, Remarkably Bright Creatures. Written by Shelby Van Pelt, the novel is about an aquarium octopus, a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus, that sneaks out of its tank at night and goes fishing for snacks in the nearby fish tanks. While the book is fiction, I’m pleased some parts are based on real life—an aquarium octopus gallivanting, escaping, midnight-snacking--has been documented in real life.
I realize now, after reading about the biology of an octopus, that the cephalopod brain and neuron system works somewhat like ours, even though we are vertebrates with a spine and muscle, and the octopus is an invertebrate with neither. After I discovered this amazing video from Oregon State University, I decided to visit the giant Pacific octopus near me. I wanted to check it out, especially to get an idea of those arms with 280 suckers on each.
Time to visit Tsunami
The air smells like wet grass and motor oil as I walk across a city park in downtown Atlanta on my way to see Tsunami, the male great Pacific octopus that lives at the Atlanta Aquarium.
After reading Van Pelt’s book, and doing some research, I’ve become a sucker for the octopus. I’ve learned that both octopuses and humans have a large brain relative to the body. In fact, octopuses have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any invertebrate; humans have the largest brain-to-body ratio of any vertebrate. And just like the octopus named Tsunami that I was about to visit, I knew that my brain is at the core of my centralized nervous system, responsible for processing and interpreting sensory information, keeping the brain and neurons firing.
For example, I hurry into the aquarium trying to beat the opening crowd. With little conscious thought, my brain helps my arms and hands get inside quickly: GRAB phone, SCROLL to ticket, SCAN it, PUSH turnstile out of way. Total time: 40 seconds to inside facility.
I rush to Tsunami's tank.
Dang. That boy is hiding again. Just like when I visited a month ago.
The interpretive guide points and says, “he’s squeezed behind that rock,” and we peer into the wavering darkness. He says that Tsunami is a small octopus, about 130 pounds, and only a year old. He’ll have a relatively short life span of 2-3 years. I stay at the aquarium for 2.5 hours, and loop back to see Tsunami a few times, but I only get a glimpse of him, a bit of his shadowed arm. I rely on the guide to bring the action this day. He shows me a recent video he made of Tsunami at work, using his brain and arms to get to a snack placed inside an opaque, softball-sized rubber ball. Motivated Tsunami wasted no time on that ball which featured a tricky screw-on opening: GRAB ball with three legs, UNSCREW disc opening, SLAP AWAY intruding rockfish swimming by, SQUEEZE three legs inside, SUCKER UP a shrimp, LIFT shrimp to mouth, EAT. Total time: 2 minutes to snack time for this agile youngster.
As I reflected on the similarities in how Tsunami dealt with his rubber ball, and how I deal with my smartphone, I thought of author Richard Powers and his views about other living creatures on Earth. Powers won the National Book Award for The Overstory, his 2018 novel about trees. In an interview, he said “. . . once I started looking (at trees), I realized it’s not about the size and scale . . .it’s that I’ve been blind to these amazing creatures all the time.”
Of course, many people are not blind to octopuses. Worldwide, there are 300 species of octopuses, and they live in every ocean. I highly recommend both books mentioned here, and I’ve just heard of a new nonfiction book coming out next month by Sy Montgomery: "Secrets of the Octopus.” National Geographic is teaming up with Penguin Random House, the publisher, on this one so expect some great photography and perhaps a documentary. Also, in 2020, “My Octopus Teacher,” a Netflix documentary, was an Academy Award nominee and very worth watching or rewatching.
As a whole, no, octopuses are not currently listed as endangered or threatened by the IUCN Red List (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Despite this, I feel good knowing there are many who want to help conserve this intelligent, cold-water species, which face a range of dangers, including being coveted as a delicacy in several cuisines. More information on octopus conservation efforts and community science efforts can be found here. Community science efforts have focused on reporting incidents of stranded octopuses, how Benthic octopuses use litter in their shelters, and a project during which citizen scientists rediscover the sand octopus.
Even though I cannot participate in these efforts to report on them, I take comfort in knowing that these community-led conservation initiatives persist and thrive.
Coming up:
If you live near Atlanta, try to attend some events planned by the organizers of The Atlanta Science Festival.
I’m registered for:
#SpeakUpForScience This one, online and free, is for everybody anywhere. Join me.
Cycling into science: A family physics exploration.
You’ll hear how it went later. I promise.
Changes and updates to The Everyday Scientist
I’m going to a twice a month publishing schedule instead of weekly. Why? More time for research and reflection.
Occasional special editions with a focus on personal storytelling with video and audio. Why? Stories, told in various formats, help us remember.
More science, mostly biology with some physics and chemistry. Why? This is needed. The Pew Research Center has published several surveys that reveal that by far most Americans agree that science has brought benefits to society and expect more to come.
More emphasis on actions we can take to improve our world. Why? We need to share ideas and have a bias for action. Start here at Actions for a Healthy Planet.
Comment from Sally Sears: Riveting! and not completely comfortable. I watched the first seconds of the octopus feeding video and felt myself squirm. Why? All that writhing? Those slippery tentacles? Much more impressive is your writing about the octopus brain brilliance. Thanks for making me want to pay attention!
I just read Entangled Life: How Fungi make our Worlds, Change our Minds & Shape our Futures. Pretty interesting