The scientists filmed the veined octopus, Amphio
ctopus marginatus, selecting halved coconut shells from the sea floor, emptying them out, carrying them under their bodies up to 65 feet (2
0 meters), and assembling two shells together to make a spherical hiding spot.
Julian Finn and Mark Norman of Museum Victoria in Melbourne observed the odd activity in four of the creatures during a series of dive trips to North Sulawesi and Bali in Indonesia between 1998 and 2008. Their findings were published Tuesday in the journal Current Biology.
"I was gobsmacked," said Finn, a research biologist at the museum who specializes in cephalopods. "I mean, I've seen a lot of octopuses h
iding in shells, but I've never seen one that grabs it up and jogs across the sea floor. I was trying hard not to laugh."
Octopuses often use foreign objects as shelter. But the scientists found the veined octopus going a step further by preparing the shells, carrying them long distances and reassembling them as shelter elsewhere.
That's an example of tool use, which has never
been recorded in invertebrates before, Finn said.
"What makes it different from a hermit crab is this octopus collects shells for later use, so when it's transporting it, it's not getting any protection from it," Finn said. "It's that collecting it to use it later that is unusual."
The researchers think the creatures probably once used shells in the same way. But once humans began cutting coconuts in half and discarding the shells into the ocean, the octopuses discovered an even better kind of shelter, Finn said.
The findings are significant, in that they reveal just how capable the creatures are of complex behavior, said Simon Robson, associate professor of tropical biology at James Cook University in Townsville.
"Octopuses have always stood out as appearing to be particularly intelligent invertebrates," Robson said. "They have a fairly well-developed sense of vision and they have a fairly intelligent brain. So I think it shows the behavioral capabilities that these organisms have."
There is always debate in the scientific community about how to define tool use in the animal kingdom, Robson said. The Australian researchers defined a tool as an object carried or maintained for future use. But other scientists could define it differently, which means it's difficult to say for certain whether this is the first evidence of such behavior in invertebrates, Robson said.
Still, the findings are interesting, he said.
"It's another example where we can think about how similar humans are to the rest of the world," Robson said. "We are just a continuum of the entire planet."
Source: Yahoo News By KRISTEN GELINEAU
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Nakakatuwa namang behavior ito for animals like them. Maybe, frustrated sila magkaroon din ng shell katulad nung ibang sea creatures. That's why I love octopus eh. LOL.
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but blatant theft of code, design, and UI elements is just not cool, especially when the infringing party is the biggest software company in the world. Yes, we’re talking about Microsoft.
Here’s the short of what we think has happened:
We were first tipped off by high profile bloggers and Taiwanese users of our community that Microsoft had just launched a new Chinese microblogging service that looked eerily similar to Plurk. Needless to say we were absolutely shocked and outraged when we first saw with our own eyes the cosmetic similarities Microsoft’s new offering had with Plurk. From the filter tabs, emoticons, qualifier/verb placement, Karma scoring system, media support, new user walkthroughs to pretty much everything else that gives Plurk its trademark appeal, Microsoft China’s offering ripped off our service. See for yourself: (Microsoft MClub on top, Plurk on bottom).
2009 was a challenging year for all of us, Filipino, still a part of global recession, corruption, high crime rate, poverty, terrorism and a lot more.
Recently, another challenge measured the strength and faith of the Filipinos. The typhoon Ondoy, Pepeng, Ramil, Santi, etc. Typhoons are very common to the
The amount of rain brought about by the typhoon Ondoy in that particular day is equivalent to almost a month of raining; imagine if the rain won’t stop for at least 3 days?
I won’t mention the damages caused by the typhoon anymore; instead I wanted to focus on its impact to us.
As I’ve observed the condition of the country via television, I must say that it was very heartbreaking. But one line is very prominent on every survivor, and I quote, “Nakakalungkot yung nangyari, ang daming namatay, yung mga gamit namin at bahay nalubog, pero hayaan na natin yun, ang mahalaga buhay kami magkakasama ng pamilya ko”. That line really made me smile and I remembered this line I once said to my mother, “Mommy, talagang walang mahirap o mayaman basta kalikasan na ang gumanti, pero ngayon natin nare-realize na balewala lang ang material na bagay, kasi pwedeng mawala yung sa isang saglit lang”.
My second observation is about the undying spirit of the Filipinos, wherein despite the tough times, we can still smile and continue with our lives. As I recalled, there was a scene from the news, wherein a man is passing through the flood, a reporter asked him about his condition and he answered, “Kayang kaya ng mga Pilipino yan, malalagpasan natin yan!” uttering it repeatedly. That simple phrase made our fellow Filipinos somehow revive their hopes. Also, as I’ve watched the special coverage of Ondoy victims on GMA 7, I smiled watching people taking pictures of the host Richard Gutierrez, despite their condition.
Through that havoc, I realized that Filipinos are considered as unnoticed and born heroes. From the ones who fought for our
I would also want to honor and highly acknowledge the show “Eat Bulaga” for their segment “EB Heroes”, wherein they give credits to those ordinary heroes in different sectors of the community. Heroes whose only mission is to help others, excluding their own benefits and as well as their own status in life.
Lastly is Efren Peñaflorida, is recently renowned 2009 CNN Hero. He is the one responsible for the pushcart classes in the
Through this I believe that every Filipino is a HERO – in our own ways.
