Miles down for lunch: deep-sea in situ observations of Arctic finned octopods Cirroteuthis muelleri suggest pelagic–benthic feeding migration

Abstract

Deep-sea cephalopods are diverse, abundant, and poorly understood. The Cirrata are gelatinous finned octopods and among the deepest-living cephalopods ever recorded. Their natural feeding behaviour remains undocumented. During deep-sea surveys in the Arctic, we observed Cirroteuthis muelleri. Octopods were encountered with their web spread wide, motionless and drifting in the water column 500–2600 m from the seafloor. Individuals of C. muelleri were also repeatedly observed on the seafloor where they exhibited a repeated, behavioural sequence interpreted as feeding. The sequence (11–21 s) consisted of arm web spreading, enveloping and retreating. Prey capture happened during the enveloping phase and lasted 5–49 s. Numerous traces of feeding activity were also observed on the seafloor. The utilization of the water column for drifting and the deep seafloor for feeding is a novel migration behaviour for cephalopods, but known from gelatinous fishes and holothurians. By benthic feeding, the octopods benefit from the enhanced nutrient availability on the seafloor. Drifting in the water column may be an energetically efficient way of transportation while simultaneously avoiding seafloor-associated predators. In situ observations are indispensable to discover the behaviour of abundant megafauna, and the energetic coupling between the pelagic and benthic deep sea.