Apr 18 2006
From the People-With-Nothing-Better-To-Do Department
Aussie researchers are apparently deeply concerned with the personalities and private lives of squid.
Squid have personalities that appear to be passed down from parent to offspring, but those traits can be modified by environment, an Australian researcher says.University of Tasmania research fellow Dr David Sinn has observed behaviour in the southern dumpling squid, Euprymna tasmanica, which is found in waters around South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. He says that in general, these squid tend to be solitary, unromantic animals with a propensity to cannibalise their neighbours and take sexual favours by force. Within that profile, Dr Sinn has found some squid are shy, retiring, cautious types while others are bold, assertive and adventurous. “It turns out some squid are bolder than others,” he said. “Individual behaviour is going to determine how far [an animal population] disperses, its growth rate, how well it survives and potentially how it reproduces, so all these things are driving population dynamics,” he said. “If you want to know how to predict population abundance, maybe we need to know more about individual behaviours and how they’re going to react to environmental change.” Dr Sinn’s next project is to investigate the role of personality in the sex life of squid. He also intends to look at personality in lizards.
Perhaps Dr Sinn needs a hobby.
