WEBVTT - How Do Cuttlefish Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeart Radio, Hey

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff Lauren bulk Bomb here. Cuttlefish are among my

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<v Speaker 1>favorite aquatic animals because they are smart and cute as

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<v Speaker 1>heck if you dig tentacles. They belong to the class

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<v Speaker 1>of mollusks called cephalopods, along with squid and octopuses. Cephalopod

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<v Speaker 1>meaning headfoot in Latin, thus named because these creatures um

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<v Speaker 1>feet of arms really encircle their heads. Cephalopods have been

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<v Speaker 1>around for about five hundred million years, much longer than

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<v Speaker 1>most other marine life, including fish, and there's some of

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<v Speaker 1>the smartest animals in the sea. And even in this

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<v Speaker 1>group of smart animals, the cuttlefish stands out for its intelligence.

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<v Speaker 1>More than a hundred and twenty species of cuttlefish call

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<v Speaker 1>Earth's waters home. They can be found in virtually all oceans,

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<v Speaker 1>although they do tend to migrate to deep areas during

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<v Speaker 1>the winter before returning to shallow waters and reefs in

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<v Speaker 1>spring and summer to mate. They're identified by are eight

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<v Speaker 1>short arms and two longer tentacles. They also have a

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<v Speaker 1>hidden weapon. Underneath the cuttle fishes many arms lies a

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<v Speaker 1>razor sharp beak, much like that of your average parrot.

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<v Speaker 1>This tool allows the cuttlefish to gnash on crab, mollusks,

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<v Speaker 1>and other hard shelled animals, and it's extra effective because

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<v Speaker 1>it sports a toxin designed to freeze prey in their

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<v Speaker 1>tracks once bitten. And cuttlefish are masters of camouflage, similar

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<v Speaker 1>to the chameleon. Cuttlefish can change their color and texture

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<v Speaker 1>to blend into their surroundings. But that's not the half

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<v Speaker 1>of it. Researchers have found that they can freeze their

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<v Speaker 1>camouflage palette by locking hundreds of tiny structures in their

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<v Speaker 1>skin in place for up to an hour, all this

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<v Speaker 1>without consuming any energy from their main nervous system to

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<v Speaker 1>stay in place. Sort of like an e reader that

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<v Speaker 1>lasts a long time between charges because it only uses

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<v Speaker 1>juice when you turn the page, a cuttlefish only expand

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<v Speaker 1>energy when they change the pattern. This trick allows them

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<v Speaker 1>to hold their disguise for long periods to avoid being

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<v Speaker 1>detected or eaten. It also helps them snatch their prey

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<v Speaker 1>by allowing them to remain almost invisible as they wait

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<v Speaker 1>for fish and crustaceans to come by. They also use

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<v Speaker 1>patterns to communicate with or sometimes trick other cuttlefish in

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<v Speaker 1>the world of cuttlefish mating. The big, brawny males usually

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<v Speaker 1>win the female cuttlefish by scaring off smaller males, but

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<v Speaker 1>every once in a while, a smaller male gets his chance.

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<v Speaker 1>He can do this by splitting his colors to show

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<v Speaker 1>typically female patterns on the side of his body facing

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<v Speaker 1>a larger male while showing masculine patterns to the female

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<v Speaker 1>of his choice. Then he sidles up to her and

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<v Speaker 1>commences mating before the other male has figured it out. However,

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<v Speaker 1>when the odds are a little more even, cuttlefish aren't

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<v Speaker 1>afraid to brawl. The scientists so long known that cuttlefish

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<v Speaker 1>are capable of aggressive behavior, but eleven footage captured this

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<v Speaker 1>behavior in the wild rather than in the laboratory. In

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<v Speaker 1>this footage, a male and female cuttlefish have just finished mating.

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<v Speaker 1>Another male tries to steal her away. He succeeds at first,

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<v Speaker 1>but then the first male follows them for a while

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<v Speaker 1>and finally strikes back. The two males start fighting, flashing,

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<v Speaker 1>inc biting, and showing other types of angry cuttlefish behavior.

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<v Speaker 1>This is interesting because it confirms that the aggressive behavior

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<v Speaker 1>was based on mutual assessment rather than self assessment. When

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<v Speaker 1>applying game theory models. In other words, the cuttlefish didn't

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<v Speaker 1>determine its actions based only on its own strength, but

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<v Speaker 1>also on considering the capabilities of its sparring partner too.

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<v Speaker 1>That takes a lot more thought than simply throwing brawn around. Further,

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<v Speaker 1>this discovery might prove to be a valuable way to

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<v Speaker 1>learn more about the cognition and aggression of other animals. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>cuttlefish can count. Study placed fifty four different farro cuttle

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<v Speaker 1>fish in a tank along with a transparent, two chambered box.

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<v Speaker 1>Each side of the box contained a different quantity of

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<v Speaker 1>shrimp to eat, forcing each cuttle fish to choose the

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<v Speaker 1>better deal of the two. Researchers changed the shrimp ratio

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<v Speaker 1>each time, and even played around with larger and dead

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<v Speaker 1>shrimp to see how those conditions factored into the cuttlefish's

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<v Speaker 1>decision making. The researchers found that the creatures had no

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<v Speaker 1>problem picking larger quantities of shrimp over smaller quantities, but

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<v Speaker 1>they could also choose the richer shrimp chamber even in

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<v Speaker 1>cases of narrow ratios, such as for shrimp in one

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<v Speaker 1>chamber versus five and the other. However, cuttlefish spend about

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<v Speaker 1>of their time resting. Although this seems like a major

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<v Speaker 1>about phase for a species that can be so aggressive,

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<v Speaker 1>it's actually a smart maneuver. Cuttlefish only live a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of years at most, but they grow rapidly up to

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<v Speaker 1>about twenty three pounds or ten and a half kilos,

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<v Speaker 1>so too much activity means they won't grow to their

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<v Speaker 1>full potential, hence the seemingly excessive downtime. Outside of appreciating

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<v Speaker 1>cuttlefish as being fascinating creatures, they're also a popular seafood

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<v Speaker 1>in many cultures and are prepared similar to squid. A plus,

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<v Speaker 1>it's cuttle bone, which is an internal structure that helps

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<v Speaker 1>it stay buoyant, is full of calcium. These wash up

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<v Speaker 1>on shore when the mollusk dies or can be harvested

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<v Speaker 1>from the fishing industry. These cuttle bones are sold to

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<v Speaker 1>owners of domesticated birds who want to give their pets

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<v Speaker 1>a treat, and cuttlefish inc which they squirted at predators

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<v Speaker 1>and competitors, was once used for writing and drawing. In fact,

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<v Speaker 1>the ink color name Cepia was taken from the cuttlefishes

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<v Speaker 1>genus Cepia. In its biological name Cepia fish analists. Nowadays,

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<v Speaker 1>people mainly use the ink for cooking. It's a key

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<v Speaker 1>part of some pasta and seafood dishes. If you've ever

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<v Speaker 1>had a dish or product in the United States labeled

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<v Speaker 1>squid Inc. Of squid Ink Pasta, perhaps chances are excellent

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<v Speaker 1>that it was actually made from cuttle fish Inc. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>episode was written by Alia Hooit and produced by Tyler Clang.

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<v Speaker 1>For more on this and lots of other inky topics,

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<v Speaker 1>visit HowStuffWorks dot com. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart Radio.

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