“I don’t think it’s any one single factor. But
something’s changing on quite a large scale that’s giving cephalopods an edge”
Dr. Zoë Doubleday from the University of Adelaide
commenting on the rise of the octopii
Octopii or octopuses, whichever you're comfortable
with, are on the rise.
So says research from Dr. Zoë Doubleday and her team
from the Environmental Institute at the University of Adelaide as reported in
the article “Swarms
of Octopus Are Taking Over the Oceans”, published 24 May 2016 by Maddie
Stone, Gizmodo.
Their analysis, which was published in the journal
Current Biology indicates that cephalopods have increased in numbers across the
world's oceans since the 1950s. Cephalopods are multi-tentacles creatures that
include:
1. Squids
2. Octopuses
3. Cuttlefish
Cephalopods are prone to sudden increase and
decreases in their population. Based on a sudden decrease in the number of
giant Australian cuttlefish, her co-author suggested that they looked into the population
of cephalopods across the world to see if they could spot a pattern.
So they pulled up data for the population of thirty
five (35) species or genera of cephalopods across all major ocean regions from
1953 to 2013. Albeit many of the cephalopods have been in a state of flux,
overall, their population has been increase, if you look at the overall data.
So are the octopus planning a mass attack on
humanity these past sixty (60) plus years?
Cephalopods
experiencing boom time - Kill and Kill Again, Octopussy style.
Reason for their increase are varied. One theory
posits that increased overfishing has killed off the natural predators that
would normally eat these cephalopods. Thus they've begun to reproduce
unchecked.
Another possibility is that global warming may be
benefitting them somehow, making them reproduce more as postulated in the
article “World
octopus and squid populations are booming”, published May. 23, 2016 by
Patrick Monahan, Science Mag.
This is unlikely, as these boneless cephalopods do
not like acidic water. Increased global warming is cause by Carbon Dioxide (CO2),
which dissolves into the seawater, making it more acidic. However, rising sea
temperatures may hasten their reproduction and they may even adapt to the
increasing level of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) and increasing ocean
acidity.
Whatever the reason, this means more of them for us
humans to eat, albeit these highly cannibalistic “weed of the sea” often eat
themselves when in excess until only the optimus octopii remains, Kill and Kill
Again Style.
Calamari, anyone!?
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