- Title
- Behavioural observations of the common octopus Octopus vulgaris in Baía dos Tigres, southern Angola
- Creator
- de Beer, Chénelle L
- Creator
- Potts, Warren M
- Date Issued
- 2013
- Date
- 2013
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123233
- Identifier
- vital:35419
- Identifier
- https://doi.org/10.2989/1814232X.2013.847496
- Description
- The common octopus Octopus vulgaris (Cuvier 1797) is a shallow-water cephalopod species that inhabits coastal rocky areas or reefs. It is the most studied and widely distributed species in its genus. This species has a short lifespan and a rapid growth rate of over 5% of body weight per day (García and Valverde 2006, Ibáñez and Keyl 2010). It is semelparous, with females laying large strings of eggs that they attach to the substrata in their dens (Hernández- García et al. 2002). There is a paucity of information on the preferred habitat and behaviour of O. vulgaris in its natural environment (Anderson 1997, Meisel et al. 2006). The species has been classified as highly mobile, yet resident individuals may exhibit high levels of territoriality. Its mobility allows it to move efficiently between a wide range of suitable habitats (Katsanevakis and Verriopoulos 2004). Octopus make use of both tactile and visual senses to forage, feed and seek suitable shelter (Forsythe and Hanlon 1997, Carvalho and Sousa Reis 2003, Rodríguez-Rúa et al. 2005). They are active feeders that seek out prey such as crustaceans, sessile molluscs and small fish (Forsythe and Hanlon 1997, Boyle and Rodhouse 2005), as well as their smaller conspecifics (Ibáñez and Keyl 2010). The majority of behavioural ecology studies on octopus have been on captive individuals. However, the activity patterns (Mather 1988), foraging strategies and aspects of the movement behaviour (Mather and O’Dor 1991) of juvenile O. vulgaris in the wild were described for an exploited population in Bermuda. Because intertidal octopus stocks are exploited by recreational, subsistence and artisanal fisheries (e.g. Oosthuizen and Smale 2003, Sauer et al. 2011), there are few opportunities to study the behavioural ecology of unexploited populations. An opportunity arose to study various behavioural patterns in an unexploited population in Baía dos Tigres, a large (~200 km2) coastal embayment situated on an isolated stretch of the southern Angolan coast (Figure 1). This study provides information on the population size structure, aspects of the movement behaviour, activity patterns and foraging strategies of O. vulgaris in this largely unstudied coastal embayment.
- Format
- 5 pages
- Format
- Language
- English
- Relation
- African Journal of Marine Science
- Relation
- De Beer, C.L. and Potts, W.M., 2013. Behavioural observations of the common octopus Octopus vulgaris in Baía dos Tigres, southern Angola. African Journal of Marine Science, 35(4), pp.579-583
- Relation
- African Journal of Marine Science volume 35 number 4 579 583 19 Dec 2013 1814-232X
- Rights
- African Journal of Marine Science
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Taylor & Francis Online Terms and Conditions Statement (https://www.tandfonline.com/terms-and-conditions)
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Potts, Warren M (Prof)
RU Department of Ichthyology and Fisheries Science
SDG 14. Life Below Water
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