“She” would even eat her own arm. Many species die after reproduction. But in the case of mother octopuses, the situation is particularly worrisome: in most octopus species, “she” stops eating when the eggs are close to hatching. “She” then leaves her protective companion during the incubation period and becomes obsessed with her own destruction. “She” might hit rocks, tear her own skin, and even eat her own arm. Now researchers have discovered the chemical that appears to control this deadly frenzy . No one knows the purpose of this behavior. There are various theories, including dramatic death shows that draw predators’ attention away from the eggs, or that the mother’s body releases nutrients into the water that nurtures the eggs. It’s more likely that successive deaths protected the baby octopuses from previous generations, said Z. Yan Wan, an assistant professor at the University of Washington. Octopuses are cannibals, and if older octopuses stay there, they could end up eating each other’s young, she said. Wodinsky found that if the nerves to the optic glands were cut, the mother octopus would discard “her” eggs, start feeding again, and live another four to six months. The extent of this lifespan extension is impressive for a creature that only survives about a year. But no one knows how the optic glands control this chain of self-harm.
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