View From the Deep

Karli Bouck

Bio 1610-008

Dr. Michaela Gazdik-Stofer

February 24,2017

After reading through many articles, the one that stood out to me was an article about an intriguing Squid. It is named the Histioteuthis Heteropsis, but it is also known as the Strawberry Squid because it is pink in color and also has black spots or photophores speckled on its body. The strawberry design is not the only thing that makes this squid unique. It’s amazing adapted eyes have also deemed it the cock eyed squid, and those eyes have given the squid a couple of incredible capabilities.

Kate Thomas (A Duke University Biologist) has spent a lot of time studying ocean life. She became intrigued when she first saw this particular squid and she wanted to know the reason behind its two very different eyes. She noticed the squid had one eye that pointed upward and was quite large and bulging, while its other eye pointed downward and was more flat. She decided the best way to learn about them was to watch them. Thomas watched clips from 30 years’ worth of videos that recorded the cock eyed squid. She studied their behavior and movements and in time she discovered the reason for their eyes. She learned from her studies that the large "bubble" eye was able to see the small amount of light that came from the ocean surface and that fragment of light helped the squid to see shadows coming towards it to help it catch food (or move away from predators) coming from above, While the downward pointing eye had adapted itself to be able to detect bioluminescent light coming from the dark ocean below. The eyes being able to see in opposite directions, for opposite purposes, really gives this squid an advantage in the lower depths of the ocean.

I chose this article because I have always been interested in the animals that live in the deeper parts of the ocean.  They have adapted to their surroundings in many ways that we do not see in land creatures. They are almost alien like. It is so interesting to know these creatures have such incredible abilities. The amazing thing about learning how different animals adapt is it helps us to discover new technologies that are beneficial for ever day life. Thomas’ research has not only been able to help the world discover new facts about the way we see with our own eyes, but it is also being used to help develop camera lenses. I imagine that these discoveries will lead to ocean cameras that will help us better explore what other amazing creatures lurk deep below the water’s surface.

Source: https://today.duke.edu/2017/02/mismatched-eyes-help-squid-survive-ocean’s-twilight-zone