• Education
    • Higher Education
    • Scholarships & Grants
    • Online Learning
    • School Reforms
    • Research & Innovation
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Home & Living
    • Relationships & Family
  • Technology & Startups
    • Software & Apps
    • Startup Success Stories
    • Startups & Innovations
    • Tech Regulations
    • Venture Capital
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Gadgets & Devices
    • Industry Analysis
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
Today Headline
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
Today Headline
No Result
View All Result
Home Science & Environment

The Amazing Camouflage of The Octopus Comes at a Heavy Cost

November 18, 2024
in Science & Environment
Reading Time: 4 mins read
A A
0
The Amazing Camouflage of The Octopus Comes at a Heavy Cost
2
SHARES
5
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Octopuses are masters of camouflage and disguise. An alarmed octopus can vanish even while you watch, flawlessly transforming into what looks like a piece of coral-encrusted rock, or another species of sea creature entirely.


It’s one of the most remarkable tricks in an animal kingdom full of remarkable tricks… but new research suggests that it’s not without a heavy price.


The metabolic cost of changing color could be quite high indeed – and it could be more beneficial for octopuses to hide when they can, and use camouflage only when no other options are available.


“Our results show that the octopus chromatophore system has an exceptionally high metabolic demand,” write biologists Sofie Sonner and Kirt Onthank of Walla Walla University in the US.


“Due to the involvement of the nervous and muscular systems, it is likely that cephalopod color change is one of the most energetically expensive forms of color change, so our estimate likely represents the upper bound of the cost of color change in the animal kingdom.”


There are many animals that can change color, for various reasons, including communication, thermoregulation, or camouflage.


Active camouflage, such as that exhibited by animals such as cephalopods and chameleons, costs energy to accomplish, but has been a successful enough strategy to evolve multiple times.

frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen>

The active camouflage displayed by octopuses is unrivaled, but we don’t have a clear idea of what it costs the octopus to change its color and, in some cases, texture.


So Sonner and Onthank sought to investigate, using pieces of skin excised from the East Pacific ruby octopus (Octopus rubescens).


These skin samples are loaded with pigmented cells called chromatophores. When a tiny radial muscle contracts, it reveals the pigment underneath, changing the octopus’s hues according to its requirements at any given time.


When a blue light is shone on a skin sample in a lab, this triggers the chromatophores to activate.


The researchers leveraged this phenomenon to monitor the oxygen consumption of the skin sample when it was inactive, and how that consumption increased when the skin was bathed in blue light.

A ruby octopus (Octopus rubescens). (bahuelga/iNaturalist/CC BY-NC-SA 4.0)

With those measurements, Sonner and Onthank then calculated the energy expenditure over the entire surface area of a ruby octopus, relative to its mass.


They then compared this to measurements of the resting metabolic rate of the ruby octopus, obtained from measurements of the animal’s resting oxygen consumption taken for the purpose of the study, and from other previously published papers.


They found that the energy needed for the complete activation of the octopus’s chromatophore system was nearly as high as the energy expended by the entire remainder of its body at rest.


When other necessary functions are also at play – changing the texture of the skin to mimic rock or coral, for example, and the neural load – octopus camouflage becomes a hefty energetic cost.

frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen>

This could explain other things we see octopuses do. A nocturnal lifestyle is one possible solution; if you can’t be seen anyway because it’s too dark, there is little need to change what you look like. But the ruby octopus, among others, is not nocturnal.


We often see octopuses stuff themselves into hidey holes, crannies, and dens. The high cost of doing camouflage could explain why.


“Another potential cost mitigation strategy could include the use of dens, which is a near-universal life history trait among shallow-water octopuses,” the researchers write.


“Octopuses outside of dens employ high degrees of crypsis, and consequently, a high proportion of chromatophores are active, the majority of the time.


“However, octopuses in dens would be hidden from predators and not actively hunting prey, and therefore unlikely to be using their chromatophore system extensively. This reduction in energetic demand may be the reason that many octopus species spend the majority of their time in dens.”


And here we thought rolling around in coconut shells just looked like a good time.

The research has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Previous Post

Kane reveals 2030 WC dream at statue unveiling

Next Post

RFK Jr’s No. 1 hurdle to take on unhealthy food: money

Related Posts

lunar standstill graph

June’s Full Moon Will Be The Lowest in The Sky For Decades. Here’s Why. : ScienceAlert todayheadline

June 3, 2025
3
Lower Alzheimer's Risk With the MIND Diet, a Combo of the DASH and Mediterranean Diets

Lower Alzheimer’s Risk With the MIND Diet, a Combo of the DASH and Mediterranean Diets todayheadline

June 3, 2025
4
Next Post
RFK Jr’s No. 1 hurdle to take on unhealthy food: money

RFK Jr’s No. 1 hurdle to take on unhealthy food: money

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

April 2, 2025
Pioneering 3D printing project shares successes

Product reduces TPH levels to non-hazardous status

November 27, 2024

Hospital Mergers Fail to Deliver Better Care or Lower Costs, Study Finds todayheadline

December 31, 2024

Police ID man who died after Corso Italia fight

December 23, 2024
Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power

Harris tells supporters ‘never give up’ and urges peaceful transfer of power

0
Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend's Mother

Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother

0

Trump ‘looks forward’ to White House meeting with Biden

0
Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

0
Israel pushes back after UN calls for probe into deadly shooting near Gaza aid site

Israel pushes back after UN calls for probe into deadly shooting near Gaza aid site

June 3, 2025
Source: USWNT's Albert leaving PSG for Lyonnes

Source: USWNT’s Albert leaving PSG for Lyonnes

June 3, 2025
Amazon's CEO wants shoppers, Prime members to know this

Amazon's CEO wants shoppers, Prime members to know this todayheadline

June 3, 2025

NUTEX HEALTH ANNOUNCES INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR ITS 2025 ANNUAL MEETING todayheadline

June 3, 2025

Recent News

Israel pushes back after UN calls for probe into deadly shooting near Gaza aid site

Israel pushes back after UN calls for probe into deadly shooting near Gaza aid site

June 3, 2025
0
Source: USWNT's Albert leaving PSG for Lyonnes

Source: USWNT’s Albert leaving PSG for Lyonnes

June 3, 2025
4
Amazon's CEO wants shoppers, Prime members to know this

Amazon's CEO wants shoppers, Prime members to know this todayheadline

June 3, 2025
4

NUTEX HEALTH ANNOUNCES INTERNET AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR ITS 2025 ANNUAL MEETING todayheadline

June 3, 2025
4

TodayHeadline is a dynamic news website dedicated to delivering up-to-date and comprehensive news coverage from around the globe.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Basketball
  • Business & Finance
  • Climate Change
  • Crime & Justice
  • Cybersecurity
  • Economic Policies
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Policies
  • Europe
  • Football
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Health
  • Medical Research
  • Mental Health
  • Middle East
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Science & Environment
  • Software & Apps
  • Space Exploration
  • Sports
  • Stock Market
  • Technology & Startups
  • Tennis
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Us & Canada
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • World News

Recent News

Israel pushes back after UN calls for probe into deadly shooting near Gaza aid site

Israel pushes back after UN calls for probe into deadly shooting near Gaza aid site

June 3, 2025
Source: USWNT's Albert leaving PSG for Lyonnes

Source: USWNT’s Albert leaving PSG for Lyonnes

June 3, 2025
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Technology & Startups
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2024 Todayheadline.co

Welcome Back!

OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Business & Finance
  • Corporate News
  • Economic Policies
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Market Trends
  • Crime & Justice
  • Court Cases
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Cybercrime
  • Legal Reforms
  • Policing
  • Education
  • Higher Education
  • Online Learning
  • Entertainment
  • Awards & Festivals
  • Celebrity News
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Health
  • Fitness & Nutrition
  • Medical Breakthroughs
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemic Updates
  • Lifestyle
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food & Drink
  • Home & Living
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Government Policies
  • International Relations
  • Legislative News
  • Political Parties
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Industry Analysis
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Policies
  • Medical Research
  • Science & Environment
  • Space Exploration
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • Sports
  • Tennis
  • Technology & Startups
  • Software & Apps
  • Startup Success Stories
  • Startups & Innovations
  • Tech Regulations
  • Venture Capital
  • Uncategorized
  • World News
  • Us & Canada
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Travel
  • Research & Innovation
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • School Reforms
  • Stock Market
  • TV & Streaming
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • About us
  • Contact

© 2024 Todayheadline.co