We know that every excess CO2 we pump into the air – along with a number of other harmful effects – drives the acidity of the oceans as it sinks and sinks. melt into the water, but it seems as if the hard octopus will find ways to adapt to a rapidly changing environment.
Previous research on the effects of ocean acidification on cephalopods such as octopuses, cuttlefish, and squid has shown that increased carbon dioxide in the water adversely affects this type of marine life.
However, in a new study, a group of Octopus rubescens – a species of octopus common on the west coast of North America – has been seen to change their normal metabolic rate (RMR) over a series of weeks in response to lowered pH levels in the surrounding water.
“Challenges to the physiology of an organism are often manifested in changes in energy use and are therefore seen as changes in the level of aerobic metabolism,” the researchers wrote in their paper.
A total of 10 octopuses were studied under controlled laboratory conditions, with RMR measured immediately after exposure to acidic water, after one week, and after five weeks. Oxygen critical pressure – a measure of animals’ inadequate oxygen intake – was monitored at the same time.
Initially, high levels of metabolic change were detected in the creatures – a kind of panic reaction that actually contradicts earlier research on cephalopods, which had a decrease in metabolic change. recorded in similar situations.
However, RMR had returned to normal after a week, and remained the same five weeks later, suggesting some adjustment. The increased acidity affected the ability of the octopuses to function at low oxygen levels, however.
“This response in RMR suggests that O. rubescens able to accumulate to elevated CO2 over time, “the researchers wrote.” The observed increase in RMR may be due to several gloomy responses to hypercapnia [increased CO2 in the blood], possibly incorporating both behavioral and psychological strategies. “
These strategies could include preparing for a move to find a new piece of water for residential use, for example, the researchers suggest (something that was not possible here). The brief RMR increase may also reflect the octopuses making rapid changes to their biological processes according to the new acid level.
The study is the first to look at short-term (week) and long-term (five weeks) changes in metabolism levels in cephalopods in response to ocean acidification. We know that these creatures are hardy, and they seem to even have treatment strategies that can potentially transform them into humans that are destroying the natural environment around them.
None of this means that we should be okay with the current climate crisis, or not try to make major changes to put it back. When we don’t pay proper attention to the planet, it’s not us who are becoming extinct.
Also, these experiments were performed in controlled laboratory settings that do not take into account many other interrelated features in the natural environment of the animals. For example, even if the octopus itself can change, what about their food supply?
“While this species may be able to adapt to near-term ocean acidification, the environmental impact of acidification and hypoxia can pose a psychological challenge to this species,” the researchers wrote.
The research was published in Physical and biochemical anthropology.