Date of Award
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science
Department
Biology
First Advisor
Dr. Kristine Grayson
Abstract
Callistoctopus furvus is an understudied, nocturnal octopus that inhabits shallow, subtropical waters in the western Atlantic. This species relies on camouflage to blend in to diverse environments to escape predators. To understand the relationship between substrate and skin patterning in this species, we used second-by-second analysis of video data recorded in the field. We compared frequencies of four substrate types (sand, rock, algae, and seagrass) ranked by contrast across ten skin patterns displayed by C. furvus. Chi-squared analyses showed significant results that the four substrates were unevenly represented in every skin pattern. However, the data did not support our hypothesis that there would be a positive relationship between substrate complexity and skin pattern complexity. Instead, rock and algae were the most common substrates for all skin patterns except Racing Stripe with Brick Red Front Dorsal Arms which was found most often on seagrass. Thus, it can be inferred that substrate alone was not an effective predictor of skin pattern in this study and additional research into octopus behavior and the roles of individual skin pattern components is required to understand camouflage in C. furvus.
Recommended Citation
Lekas, Emily, "Substrate Complexity is not Correlated with Skin Pattern Complexity in Callistoctopus Furvus" (2025). Honors Theses. 1837.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/1837
