Ontogeny of predatory capacity and prey choice during early life of the holobenthic octopus Amphioctopus fangsiao (d’Orbigny, 1841): switching prey-choice strategy

• Published in: Marine biology 2024-11, Vol.171 (11), p.206, Article 206
• Main Authors: Awa, Nozomi, Dan, Shigeki, Nagatsuka, Kota, Sekiguchi, Yumiko, Shimba, Ayako, Anaguchi, Yuji, Kamei, Yoshinori, Hamasaki, Katsuyuki
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amphioctopus fangsiao; Benthos; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Energy; Energy intake; Freshwater & Marine Ecology; Gastropoda; Hatching; Interspecific relationships; Juveniles; Life Sciences; Marine & Freshwater Sciences; Marine molluscs; Microbiology; Mollusks; Oceanography; Octopuses; Ontogeny; Original Paper; Predation; Predators; Predatory behavior; Prey; Snails; Strategy; Wet weight; Zoology
• ISSN: 0025-3162; 1432-1793
• DOI: 10.1007/s00227-024-04527-x

Benthic octopuses are well known generalist predators but the predatory behavior of juveniles is poorly understood. This study investigated prey choice by juvenile Amphioctopus fangsiao , a holobenthic species. Juveniles aged 0 to 50 d after hatching (0.1–5.2 g wet weight) were simultaneously offered seven individuals of each of three types of prey organism: clams, marine snails, and mysids. The juveniles consumed all three species from the day of hatching (0 d) but the energy intake of the early juveniles relied largely on snails. Juveniles could catch snails easily by detaching them from the bottom of the tank but required a longer time to feed on them. Their ability to pull open clam shells and to successfully catch mysids developed as they grew, and the grown juveniles chose mysids and clams as their main prey organisms. Early juveniles of  2.5 g changed the criteria of prey choice to attain a shorter time of prey consumption and a faster rate of energy intake. These suggest that A . fangsiao has a switching prey-choice strategy: early juveniles give priority to growth, but grown juveniles give priority to reduce time suffering predation risk while obtaining energy quickly as much as possible. Because early juveniles can develop the predatory capacity as they grow faster, they seem to take a strategy to invest growth to go through quickly the period of high risks of predation and starvation.