Signaling to the Enemy? Body Pattern Expression and Its Response to External Cues During Hunting in the Cuttlefish Sepia officinalis (Cephalopoda)

Abstract

Cuttlefish can rapidly alter their appearance by using neurally controlled chromatophore organs. This ability may provide a window into their cognitive capacity. We test whether the changes in body pattern that occur during hunting depend on context. If they do, then it may be possible to use these changes to study cephalopod cognition while the animal is engaged in ecologically relevant tasks. We found consistent individual differences in the tendency of cuttlefish to hunt with the first two arms raised. We also found that cuttlefish usually darken their skin after they seize a prey item. This darkening is observed regardless of the identity of the prey (fish, crab, or shrimp), prey context (buried in sand, in a bare tank, or on top of a rock pile), or the presence of a sudden stimulus. The sudden stimulus was created by presenting an overhead model bird to the cuttlefish. The model induced components of the Deimatic Display, which is a form of antipredator behavior, suggesting that the model was perceived as a potential threat. Passing Cloud displays and the Darkening of the arms were significantly reduced after exposure to the model bird. The effect of a potential predator on body pattern expression during hunting suggests it may be possible to use these changes as a sensitive indicator of ecologically relevant learning.

Defensive Responses of Cuttlefish to Different Teleost Predators

“…In the present study, cuttlefish showed different body patterns and behaviors during trials when predators were apparent (with bluefish) than when they were not (with flounder). Adamo et al (2006) reported similar results after cuttlefish were exposed to a (model) predator compared to when animals were allowed to forage without a disturbance. Bipedal locomotion was shown by cuttlefish during a single trial with bluefish; previously, this behavior has been reported only in the two octopus species Abdopus aculeatus and Amphioctopus marginatus (Huffard et al, 2005;Huffard, 2006).…”

“…Cuttlefish are known to show complex displays as antipredator defenses, sexual displays, hunting displays, and as alarm signals to conspecifics (Moynihan and Rodaniche, 1982;Hanlon and Messenger, 1988;Adamo and Hanlon, 1996;Adamo et al, 2006;Langridge et al, 2007). In control trials where no predators were present, cuttlefish showed several body patterns that camouflaged them against natural substrates consisting of sand, rocks, and pebbles.…”

“…Previous studies have shown that cuttlefish and other cephalopods (e.g., Sepiola affinis) sometimes exhibit conspicuous body pattern displays while foraging (e.g., Passing cloud; Dark arms); these behaviors are thought to function similarly to deimatic displays-to startle or distract prey just prior to and during capture (Mauris, 1989;Adamo et al, 2006). In the present study, cuttlefish showed different body patterns and behaviors during trials when predators were apparent (with bluefish) than when they were not (with flounder).…”

Effects of Visual Cues of a Moving Model Predator on Body Patterns in Cuttlefish Sepia pharaonis

“…The intensity of chromatic components differed both within and between cuttlefish during the experiment, but the combinations of characteristic chromatic components in each body pattern were consistent, which enabled us to distinguish the body patterns from each other. Four body patterns were identical to those classified as "uniform light", "disruptive", "all dark" and "eyespots" in many previous studies using S. officinalis (e.g., Adamo et al, 2006;Barbosa et al, 2007;Mäthger et al, 2007;Langridge et al, 2007;Langridge, 2009). Body patterns similar to two body patterns that we classified as "vertical stripe" and "center circle" have been reported in several previous studies (see Hanlon and Messenger, 1988;Lee et al, 2010).…”

Primary and secondary defences of squid to cruising and ambush fish predators: variable tactics and their survival value

“…Most notable are their advanced abilities to colour change and camouflage (Hanlon 2007;Barbosa et al 2008;Mathger et al 2008), exhibit postural displays (Hanlon et al 1999;Huffard 2006;Bush et al 2009) and use ink to confuse both menacing predators and conspecifics (Wood et al 2008). While cephalopods are known to use deimatic and protean displays towards predators (Moynihan & Rodaniche 1982;Hanlon & Messenger 1988, 1996Adamo et al 2006;Langridge 2009), few studies have evaluated the conditions and types of predators that evoke these defences during predator-prey interactions.…”