Ocean Ingenuity

Key concepts:

• Cuttlefish – complex nervous system and chromatophores for camouflage
• Japanese puffer fish – mating architecture
• Meta-barcoding
• Octopus – beauty, intelligence and diversity
• Squid intelligence
• Squid teeth – prototype for an alternative to plastic

Scientists are using DNA in seawater to study deep sea creatures that have never been observed. Marine creatures leave behind bits of DNA when they shed skin cells or excrete waste. Scientists are now studying this discarded genetic material using an approach called environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding, rather like our familiar barcodes.

While this data and scientific method reveals new unique genomes, film-makers are capturing behaviors that reveal adaptive intelligence.

There are myriad examples of ocean ingenuity, but the Japanese puffer fish is one of the most striking:

In September 2012 a Japanese photographer, Yoji Ookata, first first documented his discovery of an amazing little puffer fish capable of creating elaborately designed ‘crop circles’ at the bottom of the ocean as part of an elaborate mating ritual. Ookata later returned with a film crew from the Japanese nature show NHK, which aired an episode about the fish.

How could this tiny fish create such a large design in the sand? Finally, there is video that shows just how this fish uses his fins and traverses the sand in a rotating criss-cross pattern to create “subaquatic spirograph.” The textured sand sculpture not only attracts mates but also serves as protection for their eggs.

Some species of coral and algae have created complex collaborative symbiosis.

William Gilly, professor of cell and developmental biology at Stanford’s Hopkins Marine Station, has studied the intelligence of squid and shown that newborn squid learn through a process of trial and error, much as humans do, and that early-life experiences can physically change a squid’s nervous system in ways that may be permanent. Squid is an ideal species for conducting neurological research, because its elaborate brain is connected to a set of giant axons – the largest nerve cells in the animal kingdom.

The recent discovery that replicating the material found in SQUID teeth may yield a plastic substitute offers a prospect for ocean-inspired innovation.

The squid ‘ring tooth’ protein has potential applications in self-healing fabric, abrasion-resistant coatings, precision drug delivery and smart textiles.

Squid proteins can be used to produce next generation materials for an array of fields including energy and biomedicine, as well as the security and defense sector,” says lead author Melik Demirel, Lloyd and Dorothy Foehr Huck Endowed Chair in Biomimetic Materials, and Director of Center for Research on Advanced Fiber Technologies (CRAFT) at Penn State University, USA. “We reviewed the current knowledge on squid ring teeth-based materials, which are an excellent alternative to plastics because they are eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable.”

SRT-based materials are far more environmentally sustainable than synthetic materials made from fossil fuels. SRT proteins can be cheaply and easily produced from renewable resources. Researchers have found a way to produce this squid-inspired material without catching a squid. Demirel said, “We don’t want to deplete natural squid resources and hence we produce these proteins in genetically modified bacteria. The process is based on fermentation and uses sugar, water, and oxygen to produce biopolymers.” Further development is needed to scale up the production of these materials to make them available in industrial manufacturing processes.

Former Chief Scientist of NOAA (U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency) Dr. Sylvia Earle noted that she is often asked why she cares so much about the ocean. Her response: “Because the ocean is the cornerstone of earth’s life support system, it shapes climate and weather. It holds most of life on earth. 97% of earth’s water is there. It’s the blue heart of the planet – we should take care of our heart. It’s what makes life possible for us.”