Life of Octopus Dofleini :: essays research papers

Life of Octopus DofleiniIntroductionThis is a research report on octopuses in general, however will focus inon a particular species of octopus, the North peace-loving Giant or octopus dofleini ,which is a can buoy dwelling octopus that lives on coasts of the pacific ocean,from California to north Japan. This report will cover the habitat, andlifestyle of this amazing mollusk, that is so often misunderstood. The octopusis a very intelligent, and resourceful invertebrate whose natural abilitiesshould make this a fairly interesting reading.REPRODUCTION OF O. DOFLEINIThe spawning of the giant pacific may occur at any(prenominal) time of the year,however the mating of the octopus peaks in the winter months, with the peak ofegg laying in April and may. Octopuses reproduce sexually, and have both maleand feminine octopuses. Reproduction takes place as follows The male octopususes his tentacle to take a mass of spermatophore from within his mantle tooth decay,he then inserts it into t he oviduct, in the mantle cavity of the female. Thisprocess occurs at knowledges from 20-100m and, lasts hours. With female octopusesreceiving spermatophore up to 1m long.Female octopus seem to prefer larger males as checks and male octopus maymate with more than one female in their life span, however the male octopus onlylives a few months after breeding, and the female will split up shortly after theeggs hatch.Incubation can take from 150 days to seven or more months. The femalemay produce any where from 20,000 to 100,000 eggs over a period of several days.During incubation the female octopus will take to cleaning and aerating the eggs.This takes place at a depth of less than 50 metersLIFE SPAN OF O.DOFLEINIAfter hatching, the baby octopus (or larvae) take on the role ofplankton, drifting around the ocean feeding on neuston (dead food) as opposed tohunting live prey. This stage on an average lasts for 30-90 days.Without mating the octopus may survive up to five years, and Giant Pacific octopus have been found to reach a weight of 600 pounds, and anestimated width of over 31 feet, But the average size is only 100 pounds and 3m, quieten weighing in as the largest species of octopus.During their life span, many octopus fall victim to fatal, and non-fatalpredation. Therefore a high percentage of octopus are mangle or missing arms,this percentage increases in octopus that live in deep water, perhaps this isbecause older octopus tend to occupy deeper waters and would course have morebattle scars. However larger octopus are less prone to these injuries.