Hugs for everybody!

AP pod has returned to Kachemak Bay!

I was so thrilled to spot a few members of this resident pod flitting around the bay this afternoon (6/18/18). They were spread out, likely searching for salmon along the shoreline. AP pod was seen extensively last summer, but hadn’t been seen for many years prior. They are truly a mysterious pod!

Four-legged volunteer and very good boy Duncan brushes up on his echinoderm knowledge at the Kelp Forest exhibit.

Older than recorded history; was here longer than any of us and will be here long after we leave. Has a finite beginning and end but is still incomprehensibly ancient

Burns itself into your vision instantly and can blind you if you look for too long

Further prolonged exposure can cause cancerous growths

Non-humanoid shape floating through space; colossal flaming tentacles angrily lash out on occasion

Sort of just appeared one day and is now surrounded by the corpses of its stillborn children

People used to sacrifice other people to appease it

-Land-use history didn’t begin with European colonization and if, like me, your research focuses on post-settlement land use it’s important to acknowledge that fact.

-The great American wilderness is a grossly inaccurate colonialist fantasy.

-Human influence, specifically that of indigenous people, is all over the ecology of what is currently called America.

-Human interaction with other organisms is not inherently negative because it’s “unnatural.” We’re all family whether we want to admit it or not.

-Human/Nature dualism is awful and wrong.

-Environmentalism that focuses on “humans are bad” and verges on some Catholic-style “fallen man” ideology is also awful.

Prideful Plant Puns!!!

I’ve been working on these since pride month, and I feel bad they weren’t finished in time but I’m so happy with how they turned out! These basically happened because I called my best friend a lesbean-sprout and she loved it so much I decided to draw the first one, and things kinda,,, escalated. 

I really hope you guys love them as much as I do!

They’re all available on my redbubble!!

Release of Schaus’ Swallowtail # 054.

This species is endangered and native to Upper Florida Keys. Capture and tagging done for population monitoring through University of Florida.   

Octopodes (or octopuses, or octopi, all good) aren’t social/physically cuddly animals. While they are very curious and very intelligent, this octopus isn’t showing signs of willingly engaging with this diver.

To start with, it’s probably not trying to swim towards the diver to begin with: octopodes (like all cephalopods) swim backwards, and its initial jet towards the diver is likely unintentional. After this, the octopus repeatedly tries to adjust course to get around this unexpected impediment, and the diver repeatedly puts their hand in its way and prevents its escape. When the octopus successfully manages to turn towards the camera to escape, the diver catches it by the arm to stop it, then grabs its entire body and pulls it back towards them. This is the point when the octopus settles on the diver’s other arm and wraps its arms around the diver’s hand, an action we have no reason to believe it would have done without the diver’s interference.

Then, the diver begins to… I’m assuming try to pet the octupus? But in practice what they’re doing is kind of squinching its mantle. I suspect it’s not hurting the octopus, both because the hand motions look reasonably gentle and the octupus doesn’t do anything drastic like ink. However, when the diver’s hand first moves towards the octopus to do this, the octopus tries to crawl away along the diver’s arm and then eventually just… flattens out, at which point the video ends.

Good points: the diver isn’t being overly rough with the octopus, so I doubt it was hurt by this interaction. Also, this octopus is small enough that the diver wouldn’t be hurt by the octopus (it’s not going to be pulling out air hoses or biting through the wetsuit).

The part of this video that really bothers me is the diver just reaching out and grabbing an animal that is trying to escape and physically restraining it. That octopus has no concept that the human is expressing affiliative behavior. When things in the wild grab an octopus, it is to eat them (or, if another octopus, get it on). That is incredibly stressful for the animal and a totally inappropriate way to interact with wildlife. 

It’s likely that the reason the octopus settled on the diver’s arm is due to one or both of two things: escape wasn’t working, and 2/3 of an octopus’ neurons are actually in the tentacles. What the latter means is that it’s theorized that while an octopus’ brain gives high-level commands, much of processing / action / reaction sequences occurs independently in their arms. Octopus also have a reflex to suction onto things they come into contact with (they’ve literally got specialized chemical signalling in their skin so they don’t stick to themselves). What this likely means is that when the octopus stopped trying to escape - because if you can’t get away from a predator, staying still and hoping it forgets about you is a pretty decent next choice - it’s legs automatically gripped onto the diver’s arm. That doesn’t mean it wants to be there, or that it wants to hang out with the diver; it’s probably a combination of reflex and survival instincts, nothing more. 

Here’s an example of how an octopus that is actually curious / looking to engage with a diver will approach: tentacles first, and with measured, almost languorous motions. Even though the two octopi in the videos are different species, you can see how the one that is trying to escape from the diver is moving in a much sharper, jerkier manner. 

Here’s another example of an octopus choosing to interact with a diver. In this case, it approaches carefully but intentionally and then contact’s the diver’s hand in a much sharper motion. While I am not enough of an expert on octopus behavior to be sure of what is occurring in this second video, this looks less like curiosity and more potentially some type of antagonistic behavior, given how intense the octopus’ movements regarding the diver’s hand is and how it tries to leave with the hand rather than stay and investigate it.

Here’s  the first video I referenced:

“Here’s an example of how an octopus that is actually curious / looking to engage with a diver will approach: tentacles first, and with measured, almost languorous motions. Even though the two octopi in the videos are different species, you can see how the one that is trying to escape from the diver is moving in a much sharper, jerkier manner. “

And the second: