Researchers used advanced technology to study a massive aggregation of deep-sea octopus gathered at thermal springs near an extinct underwater volcano off the coast of Central California. Warm water from hydrothermal springs accelerates development of octopus embryos, giving young octopus a better chance of survival. The Octopus Garden is the largest known aggregation of octopus on the planet -- the size of this nursery, and the abundance of other marine life that thrives in this rich community, highlight the need to understand and protect the hotspots of life on the deep seafloor from threats like climate change and seabed mining.
In 2018, researchers from NOAA's Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Nautilus Live observed thousands of octopus nesting on the deep seafloor off the Central California coast. The discovery of the"Octopus Garden" captured the curiosity of millions of people around the world, including MBARI scientists. For three years, MBARI and collaborators used high-tech tools to monitor the Octopus Garden and learn exactly why this site is so attractive for deep-sea octopus.
The ambient water temperature at 3,200 meters deep is 1.6 degrees Celsius . However, the water temperature within the cracks and crevices at the Octopus Garden reaches nearly 11 degrees Celsius .Octopuses are ectotherms, or cold-blooded animals. The frigid temperatures of the deep sea slow their metabolism as well as their rate of embryonic development. Most deep-sea octopuses have very long incubation periods compared to their relatives inhabiting warmer shallow seas.
The massive number of octopus in one area attracts both predators and scavengers. Like most other cephalopods, pearl octopus die after they reproduce. Dead octopus at the Octopus Garden provide a feast for scavengers. A rich community of invertebrates lives alongside the nesting females, undoubtedly benefiting from unhatched eggs, vulnerable hatchlings, or adult octopus that have died.
Most of the octopus were oriented upside down, inverting their arms and folding them around their bodies. This posture was an indication of pearl octopus mothers protecting, or brooding, their eggs. The pearl octopus is a pale purple species about the size of a grapefruit that occurs in the northeastern Pacific Ocean from Oregon to Baja California. MBARI has observed this species at depths of 2,300 to 3,600 meters .
A time-lapse camera collected long-term observations of the octopus' behavior and changes in the community over a period of more than six months, allowing researchers to keep watch on the octopus nursery between research expeditions. The camera recorded an image every 20 minutes and amassed a trove of more than 12,200 images from March 2022 to August 2022. These photographs revealed various activities and behaviors of octopus, their predators, and local scavengers.
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