Color vision in the common octopus (Octopus vulgaris)
Final Report Abstract
During my research fellowship, I was able to expand our understanding of the eye of the common octopus, Octopus vulgaris (for a review on existing literature on the eye of the common octopus see Hanke and Kelber revision submitted). MR images as well as frozen sections were used to get a general overview of the eye allowing the development of a schematic eye of the octopus. Furthermore pupillary dynamics of an octopus were assessed (Soto et al. submitted) revealing that the pupil is adapted to function under low ambient light. However, it can also quickly adapt to changes in light condition, which is essential in a light‐inhomogeneous environment such as the habitat of octopus. These data sets form the basis for the behavioral experiments on brightness discrimination, for which I could train the first animals, and on color vision. Once the preparatory experiments on the eye and its structures as well as on brightness discrimination will be finished, the final color vision experiment will be run. The elaborate setup for this color vision experiment was already designed and constructed. It will allow testing if octopus, a monochromat, is able to get color information by analyzing the (possible) chromatic defocus of its lens as proposed by a publication in PNAS by Stubbs and Stubbs in 2016 – thereby adding to the enduring conundrum of color‐blind camouflage.
