[Coral-List] Yes, the Octopus Is Smart as Heck. But Why?

[Michael Newkirk]

Hi Eduardo,

Fascinating! Thank you for your input.

Kind regards,

Michael.
Chief Editor
WordsRU

On Thu, Dec 13, 2018 at 7:37 AM Eduardo Sampaio via Coral-List <
coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Just want to give some feedback on this interesting discussion. Octopuses
> do not have small brains, especially in brain/body relation. They are the
> only invertebrates which brain-body relative size rivals that of
> vertebrates (see for example J.Z. Young's papers from last century). Plus,
> as many of you were saying, 2/3 of their 500 million neurons are located
> outside of the brain, since they evolved from "ladder" architectures, in
> opposition to the centralized architecture of vertebrates. Thus, this
> actually makes up for a higher number of neurons then at least some
> vertebrates have, which made some researchers start studying the concept of
> "distributed intelligence".
>
> What makes cephalopod researchers most puzzled is finding the evolutionary
> need for such a short lived animal (most live up only to two years), to
> invest so much in neural tissue and cognitive capacities. Most research
> points to the losing of their external shell as the primary factor for
> this, but this is still a subject of much discussion.
>
> All the best,
> Eduardo
>
>
> On Wed, Dec 12, 2018, 16:42 Matt Nolan via Coral-List <
> coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov wrote:
>
> > Why?
> >
> > My guess is they got the key random genetic permutation in the genome
> > that gave their brain the unique circuitry needed to be smart.
> >
> > They were evolving and they hit the random mutation jackpot.
> >
> > And the challenging nature of their environmental aided in the change
> > sticking because it was an advantageous change.
> >
> > of course, the specifics of the genetic change, is the interesting part
> > On Mon, Dec 10, 2018 at 9:23 AM Douglas Fenner
> > <douglasfennertassi at gmail.com> wrote:
> > >
> > > It has eight arms, three hearts — and a plan. Scientists aren’t sure
> how
> > > the cephalopods got to be so intelligent.
> > >
> > > Read More... <https://nyti.ms/2DTnFOa?smid=nytcore-ios-share>
> > >
> > > They talk about big brains, but actually Octopus and other cephalopods
> > > don't have big brains, their brains are about the size of a rice grain.
> > > Which just makes their intelligence all the more surprising and
> puzzling,
> > > it seems to me.  But the cephalopods are all fabulous creatures.
> > >
> > > There are links to several other interesting cephalopod stories at the
> > end
> > > of this story.
> > >
> > > Cheers, Doug
> > > --
> > > Douglas Fenner
> > > Ocean Associates, Inc. Contractor
> > > NOAA Fisheries Service
> > > Pacific Islands Regional Office
> > > Honolulu
> > > and:
> > > Consultant
> > > PO Box 7390
> > > Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799  USA
> > >
> > > Global warming will happen faster than we think.
> > >
> > > https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07586-5
> > >
> > > Nations falling short of emissions cuts set by Paris climate pact,
> > analysis
> > > finds
> > >
> > >
> >
> http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/nations-falling-short-emissions-cuts-set-paris-climate-pact-analysis-finds?utm_campaign=news_daily_2018-11-28&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=2515903
> > >
> > > Climate change poses major threat to the US, new government report
> > concludes
> > >
> > >
> >
> http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/11/climate-change-poses-major-threat-us-new-government-report-concludes?utm_campaign=news_daily_2018-11-26&et_rid=17045989&et_cid=2511504
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