Can the Octopus Adapt Fast Enough for Climate Change? | Earth Island Journal

With the ocean temperature expected to rise 3℃ by 2100, marine biologists are scrambling to understand how warming waters affect marine life in shallow ecosystems. That is especially true for octopuses, who play a crucial role in these delicate reef and tidal pool habitats. They are both predator and prey, which means the effects of warmer water on their life cycles could be devastating.

“Cephalopods [which include octopus, squid, and cuttlefish] are an important taxon for our oceans,” explains Bret Grasse, the manager of Cephalopod Operations at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. “They are not only highly voracious predators, so they consume a lot of prey, but they’re also heavily relied on as prey for other species. They are a very high-protein, low-fat meal, like the swimming Cliff bar of the sea.” Read rest of article here.