Sending messages,
luminescent Humboldt Squid
flicker in the deep.
by Teena Carroll
A group of scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute conducted a study of Humboldt squid using remote operated vehicles. They wanted to determine how a group of squid could execute complex behaviors in low light deep sea conditions. For instance, the squid avoid body contact with each other even when pursuing the same prey.
Burford and Robison (2020) found that the squid used specific color patterns on their bodies primarily when they were hunting in groups. Normally, such color changes would not be visible in the deep sea; Humboldt squid are bioluminescent which researchers hypothesize essentially provides backlighting to highlight the color changes.
The complexity of the color changes prevented the researchers from translating exactly what the squid are communicating. However they were able to document that the patterns are a consistent and effective communication method. After observing repeated patterns, they think that the visual language of the squid may be evolved enough to use syntax.
Original research: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1920875117
Additional information: https://www.mbari.org/humboldt-squid-signaling/
Teena Carroll is a mathematics professor at Emory & Henry College in Southwest Virginia and has been a poet longer than she has been a mathematician. @Teena Carroll