First-of-Its-Kind Video Shows Giant Squid Hunt Their Prey Deep in the Ocean
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First-of-Its-Kind Video Shows Giant Squid Hunt Their Prey Deep in The Ocean:
In the permanent twilight of the mesopelagic, a silent predator hunts.
[...] For giant squid, the bright lights mounted on underwater vehicles can be uncomfortable for their sensitive, low-light eyes, which can grow to the size of dinner plates; the sound and vibration can also scare off more mobile animals. And, of course, bringing giant squid to the surface won't record their behavior in their natural environment.
That's why a team of researchers led by Nathan Robinson of the Oceanographic Foundation in Spain devised a different solution: a passive deep-sea platform, equipped with a camera. Because giant squid eyes are optimized to see shorter-wavelength blue light, they used longer-wavelength red lighting that won't annoy them, in order to see the animals on video.
Finally, they added bait: a fake jellyfish, called E-jelly, equipped with lights that mimic the blue flashing bioluminescence emitted by an atolla jellyfish (Atolla wyvillei) in distress. Although giant squid aren't known to eat jellyfish specifically, they may be attracted to the distress lights of these atolla jellyfish - they might mean that the jellyfish is under attack by something the squid does want to eat.
Journal Reference:
Nathan J.Robinson, et. al.,Studying the swift, smart, and shy: Unobtrusive camera-platforms for observing large deep-sea squid [open], Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers (DOI: 10.1016/j.dsr.2021.103538)
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