Science

The mystery of the Antarctic octopus

SMALL PRINT: WHAT’S in an octopus? Not just brains to burn, but also significant new clues that could justify concerns about…

Claire O'Connell's face
Claire O'Connell
Thu May 10 2012 - 01:00

SMALL PRINT:WHAT'S in an octopus? Not just brains to burn, but also significant new clues that could justify concerns about climate change.

Recent research in the Southern Ocean, involving scientific input from NUI Galway’s Ryan Institute (NUIG), has found that populations of the Turquet’s octopus (pictured) living on either side of the Western Antarctic ice sheet share almost identical genes.

On balance, this shouldn’t make any sense, given that the adult octopuses, named after a French biologist, are known to be territorial creatures which only tend to move under pressure from predators. And the Ross and Weddell seas, the locations for the population study, are 10,000 km apart.

However, the vast frozen territory that separates them is one of the world’s three major ice sheets, and has been identified as the most vulnerable to climate change. Should it collapse, it could cause a serious rise in sea levels.

READ MORE

Dr Louise Allcock of NUIG’s Ryan Institute, who has been visiting Antarctica on research since 1994, participated in the study with colleagues from Liverpool and Australia’s La Trobe universities. She says the genetic link supports the theory that the Ross and Weddell seas were once all one, due to the ice sheet’s collapse.

Previous modelling studies relating to climate change had suggested evidence of a sea link between Ross and Weddell, Dr Allcock says. “However, due to the lack of samples, it was very unclear. Now, this is the first genetic proof. It also provides further evidence that scientists should continue to raise awareness about the impact of climate change on Antarctica today.”

“We’ll continue to do the research, as the Turquet’s octopus is proving to be a really good model,” she explains. “Not moving at all at any stage in your life tends – for marine species – to be very rare.”

The team’s research, published in the journal Molecular Ecology, was supported by the British Natural Environment Research Council and the Collaborative Scheme for Systematic Research.