VOA科学技术2023--Scientists Surprised to Find Large Octopus Community

Scientists Surprised to Find Large Octopus¹ Community

Octopuses² are not communal³ animals. Most live alone their entire lives.

So, scientists were surprised to find thousands of pearl octopuses living together as they protected their developing eggs. The community is on the ocean floor off the California coast.

Now, researchers may have solved the mystery of the strange pearl octopus behavior.

An inactive underwater volcano heats the area where the mother octopuses settle. Their eggs hatch faster as a result.

"There are clear advantages of basically sitting in this natural hot tub," said Janet Voight. Voight is an octopus biologist at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois. She co-wrote the study published in Science Advances.

The researchers found that the area's warmth greatly reduced the time it took for eggs to hatch. As a result, the eggs had a reduced risk of being eaten by snails⁴, shrimp⁵ and other animals.

Researchers discovered the nesting area in 2018, calling it an "octopus garden."

Researchers used a robotic underwater vehicle to film the group of nearly 6,000 octopuses living around 3 kilometers deep.

The octopuses lay their eggs on warm rocks and then remain there, protecting their young with their bodies.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁶ Administration biologist Andrew DeVogelaere was a study co-writer. He described what researchers saw: "It was completely incredible – we suddenly saw thousands of pearly-colored octopus, all upside down, with their legs up in the air and moving around."

The octopus were pushing away possible predators⁷ and turning their eggs for an even flow of water and oxygen, he explained.

But scientists still did not know exactly why the octopuses had gathered there.

Scientists observed the area for three years to understand the hatching process. They recorded both the developmental stage of eggs at 31 nests and the deaths of octopus mothers.

"After the hatchlings come out of the nest and swim off immediately into the dark, the mothers, who never left their nest and never appeared to feed during nesting, soon die," said James Barry. Barry is a biologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium⁸ Research Institute and co-writer of the study.

The researchers found that eggs at this site hatch after about 21 months. The same process takes four years or more for other deep-sea octopuses.

"Usually, colder water slows down metabolism⁹ and embryonic¹⁰ development and extends life span in the deep sea. But here in this spot, warmth appears to speed things up," said Adi Khen. Khen is a biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and was not involved in the study.

Mike Vecchione is a zoologist¹¹ and octopus expert with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. He praised the researchers for gathering¹² "so much detailed¹³ data about such a remote location."

Such octopus gardens "may be widespread and really important in the deep sea," he said. "There's still so much to discover in the deep sea."

Words in This Story

hatch – v. to be born by coming out of an egg

advantage – n. a good or desirable quality or feature

nest – n. a place where an animal lives and lays eggs

incredible – adj. difficult or impossible to believe

hatchling – n. a very young creature that has just come out from an egg

remote – adj. far away from people, cities, etc.

1 octopus   

n.章鱼

参考例句：

• He experienced nausea after eating octopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。

2 octopuses   

章鱼( octopus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snails and octopuses are molluscs. 蜗牛和章鱼是软体动物。
• Limpets, snails and octopuses are mollusks. 帽贝、蜗牛和章鱼都是软体动物。

3 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

4 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

6 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

7 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

9 metabolism   

n.新陈代谢

参考例句：

• After years of dieting,Carol's metabolism was completely out of whack.经过数年的节食，卡罗尔的新陈代谢完全紊乱了。
• All living matter undergoes a process of metabolism.生物都有新陈代谢。

10 embryonic   

adj.胚胎的

参考例句：

• It is still in an embryonic stage.它还处于萌芽阶段。
• The plan,as yet,only exists in embryonic form.这个计划迄今为止还只是在酝酿之中。

11 zoologist   

n.动物学家

参考例句：

• Charles darwin was a famous zoologist.查尔斯达尔文是一位著名的动物学家。
• The zoologist had spent a long time living with monkeys.这位动物学家与猴子一起生活了很长时间。

12 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

13 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。