Squids changing colour to blend in with their environment as a strategy of avoiding predators has been seen for the first time by a team of researchers from Japan’s Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST). So far, only octopus and cuttlefish, a group of aquatic organisms with many limbs and soft bodies have been found to be able to camouflage by matching the colour of a substrate. The findings have cleared the path for more research into how squids see and comprehend the world.
Squids are frequently seen in open water. The researchers wanted to see what happens when they get closer to a coral reef or if they are pursued to the ocean floor by a predator. Since squids are difficult to keep in captivity, this type of study has been avoided so far. However, this team has been rearing an oval squid species in captivity since 2017.
This squid, known as ‘Shiro-ika’ in Okinawa, is one of three oval squids found there. They are light in colour on the open water, blending in with the ocean surface and the flashing sunshine above. However, the researchers predicted that when they got closer to the ocean below, things would change dramatically.
When the researchers were cleaning their tank to eliminate algae growth, they noticed the camouflaging by mistake. They discovered that the colour of the marine creatures changed depending on whether they were on the cleaned surface or the algae-covered surface.
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The researchers then conducted a controlled experiment based on their findings. They kept a tank with numerous squids in it and cleaned half of it, leaving the other half coated with algae. They submerged an underwater camera and suspended a conventional camera above it to record any colour changes and conduct statistical analyses on them.
The researchers discovered that the squids were light-coloured while they were on the clean side of the tank, but darkened when they hovered above the algae.
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