Octopus Senescence: The Beginning of the End

@article{Anderson2002OctopusST,
  title={Octopus Senescence: The Beginning of the End},
  author={Roland C. Anderson and James B. Wood and Ruth A. Byrne},
  journal={Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science},
  year={2002},
  volume={5},
  pages={275 - 283}
}
Senescence is a normal stage of an octopus's life cycle that often occurs before death. Some of the following symptoms typify it: lack of feeding, retraction of skin around the eyes, uncoordinated movement, increased undirected activity, and white unhealing lesions on the body. There is inter- and intraspecific variability. Senescence is not a disease or a result of disease, although diseases can also be a symptom of it. Both males and females go through a senescent stage before dying-the males… 
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Offshore cephalopods usually experience a short and extreme senescence process at the end of their lives. Unique behaviors such as brooding and fasting occur during this period. The cause of…

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Behaviour Development: A Cephalopod Perspective

  • J. Mather
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    International Journal of Comparative Psychology
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Evaluating the development of behaviour from the viewpoint of the intelligent and learning dependent cephalopod mollusks as a contrast to that of mammals finds that Sepia officinalis cuttlefish have a swift decline in memory capacity and also brain degeneration during their short period of senescence.

Senescence as a trade-off between successful land colonisation and longevity: critical review and analysis of a hypothesis

Senescence may have emerged as a side effect of the evolution of adaptive features that allowed the colonisation of land, and may be a compromise between land colonisation and longevity in mammals.

Reproductive Biology of the Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris Cuvier, 1797) in South Kenya

Sexual staging of gonads indicated that the common octopus was breeding year round with a spawning peak from June to August, and the lowest gonadosomatic index values were recorded during the month of September, indicating the end of the spawning period.

Oviducal gland transcriptomics of Octopus maya through physiological stages and the negative effects of temperature on fertilization

The molecular bases of octopus fertilization and egg-laying, and how they are affected by elevated temperatures are understood to better understand the effect of temperature on the expression of key reproductive genes.

Response of optic gland pathways to thermal stress in the reproductive phase of female Octopus maya

Investigating the molecular mechanisms that prevent reproduction at elevated temperatures in Octopus maya found changes in optic gland gene expression in O. maya may be the basis for the high-temperature inhibition of egg-laying, previously observed from this octopus species.

The Lesser Pacific Striped Octopus, Octopus chierchiae: An Emerging Laboratory Model

Novel methods for multigenerational culture of O. chierchiae are described, which propose that this small octopus possesses both the practical and biological features needed for a model octopus that can be cultured repeatedly to address a wide range of biological questions.

Reproductive status, antioxidant defences and lipid peroxidation in Octopus tehuelchus (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae) females

The results show that during sexual maturation and after natural oxidative stress conditions (spawning), only oviducal glands show changes that can be linked with the physiological processes of different reproductive status, which could be associated with the semelparous life history of this species.
...

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