DIY Neuroscience
Greg Gage: How octopuses battle each other
Filmed:
Readability: 4.4
595,113 views
Them's fighting words if you're an octopus, in that more than one octopus in a space often means a rumble. Our intrepid neuroscientists analyze aggression by observing the fighting behavior of two-spotted octopuses or, if you prefer, octopodes.
Greg Gage - Neuroscientist
TED Fellow Greg Gage helps kids investigate the neuroscience in their own backyards. Full bio
TED Fellow Greg Gage helps kids investigate the neuroscience in their own backyards. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
Greg Gage: The octopus is
a rather strange-looking animal
a rather strange-looking animal
0
40
2667
00:14
that exhibits amazingly complex behaviors.
1
2731
2485
00:17
They have the most impressive nervous
system in the entire invertebrate world.
system in the entire invertebrate world.
2
5240
4096
00:21
They have about a half a billion neurons
3
9360
1936
00:23
that are distributed
throughout their body,
throughout their body,
4
11320
2016
00:25
such that two-thirds of the neurons
are actually in its legs.
are actually in its legs.
5
13360
3296
00:28
Now mix this in with camouflaging cells,
jet propulsion and a razor-sharp beak,
jet propulsion and a razor-sharp beak,
6
16680
4336
00:33
and you have all the makings
of a formidable predator.
of a formidable predator.
7
21040
2560
00:36
And then throw in the fact
that the octopus is a solitary creature,
that the octopus is a solitary creature,
8
24160
3496
00:39
and suddenly, we have ourselves
a real cephalopod fight.
a real cephalopod fight.
9
27680
3416
00:43
(Bell)
10
31120
1000
00:44
[DIY Neuroscience]
11
32140
2160
00:46
We know that almost all animals fight --
for food, for territory, for mates.
for food, for territory, for mates.
12
34320
4976
00:51
The octopus is no different,
and knowing their fighting behavior
and knowing their fighting behavior
13
39320
3056
00:54
could help us better understand
these fascinating creatures
these fascinating creatures
14
42400
2776
00:57
and how they interact.
15
45200
1216
00:58
My friend Ilya has been observing
the classic fighting behavior
the classic fighting behavior
16
46440
2976
01:01
between California two-spot octopuses.
17
49440
2016
01:03
Ilya Chugunov: Most people
think that it's "octopi,"
think that it's "octopi,"
18
51480
2456
01:05
but that's actually incorrect.
19
53960
1456
01:07
The correct plurals
are either "octopuses" or "octopodes"
are either "octopuses" or "octopodes"
20
55440
2696
01:10
if you want to be very Greek about it.
21
58160
1856
01:12
GG: So how do you do your experiment?
22
60040
1816
01:13
IC: First, I like to set up
the chamber just so it's ready,
the chamber just so it's ready,
23
61880
2776
01:16
so I get a jug of water,
I aerate it by shaking the jug.
I aerate it by shaking the jug.
24
64680
2656
01:19
It seems that if the water is
well-aerated, they're a lot more active.
well-aerated, they're a lot more active.
25
67360
3296
01:22
This gives the octopuses
some room to breathe.
some room to breathe.
26
70680
2176
01:24
I get the first octopus --
27
72880
1256
01:26
Here, buddy. Here, pal.
28
74160
2416
01:28
Put it in, set up my GoPro,
29
76600
2536
01:31
put the second octopus in,
cover it up and leave it alone.
cover it up and leave it alone.
30
79160
3090
01:34
(Bell ringing)
31
82280
770
01:35
Rule 1: There's always
an aggressor.
an aggressor.
32
83080
1730
01:36
There's always one octopus
on defense, one on offense.
on defense, one on offense.
33
84840
2576
01:39
Usually the one that's taking up
more space, that's more boastful,
more space, that's more boastful,
34
87440
3336
01:42
definitely the aggressor,
most likely the winner of the fight.
most likely the winner of the fight.
35
90800
3176
01:46
The loser's pretty obvious.
36
94000
1416
01:47
They get pushed around,
they curl up, hide in a corner.
they curl up, hide in a corner.
37
95440
3176
01:50
A lot of the time,
when there's initial contact,
when there's initial contact,
38
98640
3296
01:53
if one of them is too much
on the defensive side,
on the defensive side,
39
101960
3016
01:57
the second one will sort of poke at it,
grab at its tentacle and see,
grab at its tentacle and see,
40
105000
3736
02:00
"Hey, do you want to fight me,
do you want to turn around?
do you want to turn around?
41
108760
2736
02:03
Do you want to start a wrestling match?"
42
111520
1936
02:05
So it'll just poke and run away.
Come back, poke and run away.
Come back, poke and run away.
43
113480
3760
02:09
(Bell ringing)
44
117818
732
02:10
Rule 2: Avoid eye contact.
45
118580
2020
02:13
When the octopuses come
towards each other to begin the fight,
towards each other to begin the fight,
46
121640
3776
02:17
they don't actually face each other.
47
125440
2096
02:19
They approach sideways.
48
127560
1735
02:21
The defensive octopus
tries to face away from the attacker
tries to face away from the attacker
49
129320
5576
02:26
until it's the critical moment
it knows there's no way to avoid a fight.
it knows there's no way to avoid a fight.
50
134920
3776
02:30
GG: Really, the one who's waiting
to the last moment
to the last moment
51
138720
2456
02:33
is the defensive octopus.
52
141200
1240
02:34
(Bell ringing)
53
142770
710
02:35
Rule 3: Flash your colors.
54
143510
2020
02:37
The aggressor in a fight will quickly
and sharply flash bright black on his arms
and sharply flash bright black on his arms
55
145560
7576
02:45
when he's about to initiate a fight.
56
153160
2320
02:48
(Bell ringing)
57
156200
1576
02:49
GG: Ooh, and already --
58
157800
1256
02:51
IC: We're seeing some action.
59
159080
1600
02:53
Looks like they've spotted each other.
60
161640
1856
02:55
GG: Right. So now he's going to come --
He's approaching, but not directly at him.
He's approaching, but not directly at him.
61
163520
4016
02:59
IC: Yeah, they're like
almost completely antiparallel.
almost completely antiparallel.
62
167560
4840
03:04
GG: And then right there --
63
172920
1536
03:06
IC: Yeah. They contact,
and then their arms clash together.
and then their arms clash together.
64
174480
3936
03:10
(String music)
65
178440
2898
03:20
GG: So we've taken the first steps
in understanding fighting in the octopus.
in understanding fighting in the octopus.
66
188044
3572
03:23
And you might be asking yourself:
Why does this even matter?
Why does this even matter?
67
191640
2856
03:26
Well, these types of curiosity-based
research questions can often lead
research questions can often lead
68
194520
3416
03:29
to some unexpected
insights and discoveries.
insights and discoveries.
69
197960
2736
03:32
We've learned a lot about ourselves
from studying marine animals.
from studying marine animals.
70
200720
3056
03:35
Squid have taught us
about how our neurons communicate,
about how our neurons communicate,
71
203800
2856
03:38
and the horseshoe crab
has taught us about how our eyes work.
has taught us about how our eyes work.
72
206680
2896
03:41
So it's not too far of a stretch to say
that some of these behaviors
that some of these behaviors
73
209600
3216
03:44
that we're seeing in the California
two-spot octopus are similar to ours.
two-spot octopus are similar to ours.
74
212840
4440
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Greg Gage - NeuroscientistTED Fellow Greg Gage helps kids investigate the neuroscience in their own backyards.
Why you should listen
As half of Backyard Brains, neuroscientist and engineer Greg Gage builds the SpikerBox -- a small rig that helps kids understand the electrical impulses that control the nervous system. He's passionate about helping students understand (viscerally) how our brains and our neurons work, because, as he said onstage at TED2012, we still know very little about how the brain works -- and we need to start inspiring kids early to want to know more.
Before becoming a neuroscientist, Gage worked as an electrical engineer making touchscreens. As he told the Huffington Post: "Scientific equipment in general is pretty expensive, but it's silly because before [getting my PhD in neuroscience] I was an electrical engineer, and you could see that you could make it yourself. So we started as a way to have fun, to show off to our colleagues, but we were also going into classrooms around that time and we thought, wouldn't it be cool if you could bring these gadgets with us so the stuff we were doing in advanced Ph.D. programs in neuroscience, you could also do in fifth grade?" His latest pieces of gear: the Roboroach, a cockroach fitted with an electric backpack that makes it turn on command, and BYB SmartScope, a smartphone-powered microscope.
Greg Gage | Speaker | TED.com