The Arctic Ocean is one of the most extreme environments on Earth, but that’s not stopping one cephalopod from making a home there. In a first, researchers observed an Arctic bobtail squid in the North Atlantic. The team captured video of a mature female squid tending her eggs.
The video shows that this species can reproduce and raise its young in one of the coldest, least-studied oceans on Earth.
The finding “highlights the resilience of marine life in one of Earth’s most extreme environments,” said Paige Maroni, a researcher at the University of Western Australia, in a statement. Maroni led the study, which was published in Polar Biology.
On supporting science journalism
If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
The sighting occurred in Northeast Greenland National Park, the largest national park on Earth and also one of the least explored.
Maroni and her colleagues deployed remotely operated underwater vehicle to a depth of 50 meters when it spotted the squid and its eggs—at this depth, the water is -1.6 degrees Celsius (29.12 degrees Fahrenheit).
Squid and octopi occupy a special place in Arctic ecosystems, both hunting smaller prey and getting hunted themselves, making them a sensitive early signal of how the broader ecosystem is holding up as the region warms.
“Establishing knowledge of the biodiversity in this region is crucial for understanding ecosystem function and resilience under accelerating climate change.” Maroni said. “This study provides a valuable new baseline for tracking ecological change in the rapidly warming Arctic.”
The expedition itself points to a broader shift in how this kind of research gets done. The team wasn’t aboard a dedicated research vessel, they were on a Secret Atlas Micro Cruise Expedition ship, supported by Yachts for Science, a model pairing paying travelers with working scientists. Maroni says that pairing is proving to be more than a novelty.
“Our results show low-impact science and expedition tourism can help fill major biodiversity gaps in remote polar regions. In poorly studied polar ecosystems, even one verified observation can provide important insight into species distributions, reproduction and resilience under climate change,” said Maroni.
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you’ll support us in that mission.
