Most shallow water species are active visual predators with vigorous metabolic activity and sophisticated behaviors (see between others Hanlon et al., 2008 Ebisawa et al., 2011 Benoit-Bird and Gilly, 2012 Vidal et al., 2014). Cephalopod coastal species have received more research attention because of their ease of accessibility in the field and their ability to be maintained under laboratory conditions. This is an example of how evolution can drive potential limitations in design, based to their molluscan clade, to extreme complexities (e.g., Young, 1977 Budelmann, 1995 Godfrey-Smith, 2013 Albertin et al., 2015 Allcock et al., 2015 Shigeno, 2017). Despite being limited in number, with 845 cephalopod species described to date (Hoving et al., 2014) when compared with the very populous phylum Mollusca to which they belong, nautiluses and coleoid cephalopods (cuttlefish, squid, octopus) are an astonishing example of diversity of form and function well equipped to deal with the various marine habitats they occupy (Clarke, 1988). Thus, a variety of feeding behaviors have been recorded both in the wild and laboratory, in association with diverse feeding strategies (see between others, the reviews of Nixon, 1987 Hanlon and Messenger, 1996 Rodhouse and Nigmatullin, 1996). The physiology, behavior, and sensory world of cephalopods have been succesfully adapted from the luminous shallow waters to the dark and cold deep-sea, where they look for the diverse prey that meet their energy requirements. The expected variation in climate change and ocean acidification and their effects on chemoreception and prey detection capacities in cephalopods are unknown and needs future research. Their particular requirements of lipids and copper may help to explain why marine crustaceans, rich in these components, are common prey in all cephalopod diets. Cephalopods are able to feed from a variety of food sources, from detritus to birds. Feeding behavior is altered during senescence and particularly in brooding octopus females. Feeding requirements and prey choice change throughout development and in some species, strong ontogenetic changes in body form seem associated with changes in their diet and feeding strategies, although this is poorly understood in planktonic and larval stages. Cannibalism and scavenger behavior is also known for some species and the development of current culture techniques offer evidence of their ability to feed on inert and artificial foods. Ambushing, luring, stalking and pursuit, speculative hunting and hunting in disguise, among others are known modes of hunting in cephalopods. The use of vision to detect prey and high attack speed seem to be a predominant pattern in cephalopod species distributed in the photic zone, whereas in the deep-sea, the development of mechanoreceptor structures and the presence of long and filamentous arms are more abundant. Photo-, mechano-, and chemoreceptors provide tools for the acquisition of information about their potential preys. The diversity of cephalopod species and the differences in morphology and the habitats in which they live, illustrates the ability of this class of molluscs to adapt to all marine environments, demonstrating a wide spectrum of patterns to search, detect, select, capture, handle, and kill prey.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |