Octopuses are rather strange creatures that move about the ocean like floating multi-armed ghosts. They are intriguing to watch as they move over underwater rock formations, seeming to launch themselves from the surface with a forceful push. It is just such a rock formation where scientists discovered hundreds of octopuses living off the coast of Monterey, California. At the base of a Pacific Ocean mountain, scientists spotted the underwater octopus “garden”, reportedly the largest underwater sea nursery of its kind. (1)
Octopuses Living On Undersea Mountain
About two miles beneath the surface, scientists discovered the happy village of octopuses while exploring the area via a remotely operated submersible. “We went down the eastern flank of this small hill, and that’s when—boom—we just started seeing pockets of dozens here, dozens there, dozens everywhere,” says Chad King, chief scientist on the Exploration Vessel Nautilus. (1)
There could be over 1,000 of this type of octopus, known as “Muusoctopus”, living on the undersea mountain. Many of the octopuses appeared “inverted”, a common sign of brooding females. “Out of that 1,000, we might have seen two or three octopuses that were just swimming around,” says King. “So I’d say almost 99 percent were brooding.” It’s possible a “shimmering” effect noted in the waters could show warmer waters might be what attracted the mothers to the area. (1)
Costa Rica Octopuses
The second-largest deep-sea octopus nursery on record consisted of about 100 octopuses discovered along the Dorado Outcrop off Costa Rica. “I’ve been working on octopuses since 1982, and I would have sworn that our observations at Dorado Outcrop were a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” says Janet Voight, a marine biologist at the Field Museum in Chicago. “To see these videos 10 months after our paper came out makes me think there are a lot more places like this down there than I ever dared imagine.” (1)
Difference In Octopuses
When comparing the two sightings there are some notable differences. In Costa Rica, Voight and lead author Anne Hartwell confirmed warm fluid in the area which could have attracted the octopuses to the site, while heat could not be confirmed in California. As well, in Costa Rica, none of the eggs showed signs of growth. This could indicate the water was too hot. When Voight watched the California video, she says you can see signs eggs are developing well. (1)
Octopuses And Heat
Meanwhile, senior scientist Bruce Robison of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, doubts heat is involved. According to geologists, the area has been inactive for millions of years. “Thus it’s very unlikely that there is any heat involved,” he says. (1)
As mentioned, the presumed presence of heat in California was based on a shimmering effect spotted by the Nautilus. However, Robinson feels it is the presence of methane gas and not heat causing this effect. However, King didn’t spot other species commonly attracted to a methane seep. It could simply be the mountain makes a nice home for the octopuses. “Maybe it’s just because that’s the best rock available,” says King. (1)
Voight takes a humbler view. “This observation is just further proof that we have no idea of what is going on in the deep sea.” (1)
