Cephalopodcast

Pucker and Bloat #3, Nerviscerate. © Jason Robertshaw

Whatever side you take in the Invertebrate Wars, both contenders have some interesting defense strategies. On the one side, many octopus and other cephalopods have the ability to eject an ink cloud to confuse their would-be predators (this should technically be coming out of Pucker’s funnel). I’ve also heard some researchers suggest that the volume and shape of the ink cloud is meant to mimic the departing cephalopod. Maybe it smells like the cephalopod too, thereby overwhelming two senses.

Sea cucumbers take a much different strategy. When they are disturbed, they can extrude sticky filaments called cuvierian tubules. It’s a rather extreme defense mechanism that requires the sea cucumber to tear a hole in its gut and expel the filaments through the new opening. You can see a short video of the process here. I am somewhat ambivalent about linking to it, since it demonstrates some rather poor behavior on the part of the divers. In fact, in the tradition of coining new Internet eponyms, I want to propose a new one for this occasion. When someone harasses marine life and it turns around to bite them in the arse (or hand, or nose or foot), that person has been MacPhersoned (with apologies to Rick, but he has a knack for pointing out these occurrences). It’s just too bad this sea cucumber can’t MacPherson these divers severely. And if the sea cucumber gets really stressed, it may even eject some of its internal organs as well. I’ve never seen that happen myself, but here’s a picture of what it looks like. Fortunately, the little bloaters are resilient and can rapidly regenerate this lost tissue. Indeed, I’ve read that they might do this intentionally as a way of clearing their system of parasites.

• TONMO: What Is Octopus Ink?
• Integrative and Comparative Biology: Biomechanics of Adhesion in Sea Cucumber Cuvierian Tubules (Echinodermata, Holothuroidea)
• pierre pouliquin: Le concombre et le crabe 1/7. A Flickr photoseries showing a sea cucumber versus a crab.
• hollyoeding: When pestered the sea cucmber spills her guts. This is a knitting project. No actual cukes were harmed in its making.

Next week: More carap about sea cucumbers

Pucker and Bloat #1A, PG version. Click here for profanity. © Jason Robertshaw

When we last left Pucker, we were missing the other star on the marquee of my nascent Web comic. But given the recent kerfuffle over on the Science Blogs over the merits of molluscs versus echinoderms, it seemed natural to settle on a sea cucumber as the best choice to play the sparring role. So there you have it folks, it’s decided: Pucker is an octopus and Bloat will be a sea cucumber.

But what’s the real separation in this spineless schism? What pulls these two poles apart? Why can’t we all swim along? As it turns out, the differences are primordial and profound.

In the very beginning, all animal embryos look very much the same, whether they are snails or sea stars. But once they get around a hundred cells thick, the hollow blob starts to split, forming a hole at one end. This opening, called a blastopore, is important and will ultimately form part of the digestive system of the animal. In a group called the protostomes, this opening forms the mouth. Molluscs and many other invertebrates start life out this way, mouth first. However, in a group called the deuterostomes, this first opening forms the anus. Sea stars, sea cucumbers and sea urchins do it this way, as well as vertebrates, including humans. We start life out butt first.

So it should now be obvious which end these two spatting sides are speaking out of. And my first comic is a tribute to these fundamental differences. It’s a little rough and rude (there are two versions, PG and PG-13). But now that I have these two characters to play with, I need something more for them to say. So if you have a bio joke or aquatic anecdote that lends itself to illustration, let me know. I need ideas. Feed me.

Team Sticky, for the Echinoderms

• The Intersection: Science, Policy, and Sea Cucumbers: Sheril On Your Radio
• The Intersection: Every Species Needs a Hero
• Bushwell’s Chimpanzee Refuge: Holothuria-matic
• The Other 95%: Sea Cucumbers Insire Brain Implant
• The Intersection: Just When You Thought Sea Cucumbers Couldn’t Get Any Cooler…
• Zooillogix: Sea Cucumbers Have Mutant Healing Factor
• Blog Around the Clock: Sea Cucumber - the Ultimate Phallic Symbol!
• Blog Around the Clock: The Invertebrate Wars!

Team Mucky, for the Molluscs

• Deep Sea News: On Clearing Up The Matter That Mollusks Are Better Than Echinoderms
• Deep Sea News: Another Blow to Sea Cucumbers and a New Challenger to the Ring
• Deep Sea News: On How Molluscs are Cooler Than Echinoderms (or anything else) Pt. 2
• Deep Sea News: On How Mollusks are Cooler Than Echinoderms (or anything else) Pt. 3: The Radula
• UPDATE: A Snail’s Eye View: Molluscs vs echinoderms

I’d like to introduce you to the Cephalopodcast mascot. His name is Pucker. He’s got suckers.

I am starting a new series on this blog called Pucker and Bloat. It’s named after one of the distortion filters available in Adobe Illustrator and I think it sounds pretty funny. It will feature postings based on my dawdling doodles made with this new tool. And since Illustrator is vector-based*, it should be possible for me to later animate the images in another program I want to work with, namely Flash.

Pucker and Bloat also sounds like a good name for a cartoon, don’t you think? So I am going to use that as a springboard to guide my studies. And with that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to the first character, Pucker. He might look familiar. In fact, it’s sketched from the Cephalopodcast mascot, who now officially has a name. This is not the final version. I am going to keep working on it. But in the meantime, I have to come up with a second character called Bloat. That sure sounds like the name of a blowfish to me. But what do you think? What marine creature would be friends with Pucker and have a name like Bloat?

Besides making learning fun for me and amusing for you (I hope), my other goal is to end up with a series of marine life clipart images. If this works, I’ll make them available under a Creative Commons license for use by educators.

So are any of you illustrators? Any one using Illustrator? What resources are your favorites? I am looking for tutorials and sources of inspiration. Here’s some of my favorites:

• Veerle’s blog. Veerle is a graphic/web designer living in Belgium. She makes lovely things. She also sometimes writes about science and nature (but not recently)
• Jada Fitch: I Heart Cepholopods
• David Lanham: Currently Occupied
• Kevin Cornell, Bearskin Rug: Octokid
• Aaron Blecha: Monster Squid
• Ectoplasmosis is inspiring.
• Tubbypaws: the artistic method. Cute animation that illustrates what working in Illustrator is like.
• Wanna buy me a book? Real World Adobe Illustrator CS3 by Mordy Golding, because I’ve got a lot to learn.

*Graphics programs basically come in two varieties, raster- or vector-based. Raster programs like Photoshop represent an image pixel by pixel. Because of this, they can produce painterly effects but the images are difficult to scale. Vector programs create images as a series of lines and polygons that can easily be scaled because they are fundamentally just mathematical expressions. It’s always reminded me of the wave/particle duality of physics.

QUEST is a savvy multimedia (TV, radio, web) series by KQED that explores the science, environment and nature of Northern California. On April 1st they start their second TV season with a feature on Humboldt squid and an interview with humble squid expert Professor Bill Gilly (Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station).

If you can’t tune into Channel 9 in the San Francisco area, then head over to iTunes to pick up the podcast.

Also, if you have a story idea germane to their series, they’d like to hear about it. Personally, I think it’d be neat if they did something on the recent (and rare) wolverine sighting in north California. Or better yet, it’d be neat if they did an animal face-off between a wolverine and a Diablo Rojo. Talk about compelling television! But I guess that’s the fare of a different kind of network.

Also, a quibble: they include the scientific name of the Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) on the sneak peek Web site. They get the capitalization correct, which is exceptional, but not the italicization. Why is this matter of styling binomial classification always handled so poorly by journalist and editors?

• Sneak Peek of QUEST’s New Season – Fierce Humboldt Squid

UPDATE: Something mysterious is stirring in the waters of Half-Moon Bay. It’s a “web-exclusive premiere” and additional photos of the new KQED program.

Dr. Clyde Roper, world-renowned teuthologist will be giving a presentation at Mote Marine Laboratory, Sarasota, FL this coming Monday.

Giant Squid: Who’s Chasing Whom?

Mote’s 2008 Special Lecture Series continues next week with the lecture “Who’s Chasing Whom? The Quest for the World’s Largest Calamari, the Giant Squid,” by Dr. Clyde Roper, Zoologist Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History. On Monday, Jan. 28, Dr. Roper will trace the historical legends and concepts based on the giant squid and present results of his deep-sea expeditions in search of the squid with National Geographic and the Discovery Channel in addition to subsequent attempts by colleagues.

Dr. Roper, an Adjunct Scientist at Mote, has had a long-standing relationship with the organization and was instrumental in obtaining the giant squid specimen that is on permanent exhibit at Mote Aquarium.

The Special Lecture Series will continue every Monday until March 10 and all lectures will take place at 7 p.m. in Mote’s Immersion Cinema located at 1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy., Sarasota. Log onto www.mote.org/news for more information and brief speaker bios.

A photo of Dr. Roper and specimens jars is available for media to download.

Members of the media interested in attending any lectures should contact Jamie Tacy at 941-388-4441, ext. 228 or jtacy@mote.org.

• Previously: Cephalopodcast #6, an interview with Dr. Clyde Roper
• 2008 Mote Special Lecture Series lineup, and additional details.

Camp Ocean Pines in Cambria, California has a number of workshop opportunities for educators this year. One in particular caught my eye:

Jumbo Squid Dissection, Teacher In-service February 1-3, 2008

The naturalist staff at Camp Ocean Pines have invited Dr. Bill Gilly, professor of Marine and Organismal Biology at Stanford to lead a study of these amazing squid. This is a great opportunity for hands-on experience with a 30-pound giant Humboldt squid. You’ll be studying under an expert who has researched the behavior and biology of squid for more than three decades.

Schedule
Friday, wine and cheese social and dinner before Dr. Gilly presents research and insights on the Humboldt Squid. Overnight accommodations available in straw bale cabins (with bathrooms and showers).

Breakfast Saturday morning, when Dr. Gilly will lead a dissection of Humboldt Squid. After this expert instruction, we share our experiences leading squid dissections in the classroom with students. Lesson plans and other handouts will be provided.

Lunch on Saturday and opportunity to join naturalist staff for a kayaking tour of the Morro Bay Estuary or a tour of the local elephant seals.

Saturday night join the staff for a relaxing campfire or visit the local attractions.

The weekend ends Sunday after breakfast and closing ceremony.

Open to science teachers, naturalists, docents, and marine science
educators.

Cost
Option 1 is $195/person (some partial scholarships available). Friday-Sunday, 2 nights lodging, wine reception, five great meals, instruction, kayak rental.

Option 2 is Saturday only $100/person for locals. Includes squid, instruction, lunch and dinner, evening lecture (either Friday in Cambria OR Saturday in Avila Beach).

• For more information visit www.campoceanpines.org or call (805) 927-0254
• Previously: Squidology

Some of the kids over at Metafilter are suggesting that today is Giant Squid Day. Others suspect it maybe Cloverfield virality. Either way, get your ink on over here:

• Real Giant Squids
• Vertebrae not required

As mentioned on Cephalopodcast #6, anyone who needs a last minute costume for Halloween can try this Instructable from Tool Using Animal. You can probably assemble it in less than 30 minutes out of commonly available office supplies. Plus an option for glow-in-the-dark action!

• Super quick last minute Squid costume

Another more involved invertebrate Instructable is the Halloween LED Jellyfish Costume.

If you suckers didn’t get enough of a cephalopod fix between Cephalopod Awareness Day and TONMO, you can now embrace the efforts of Matt Stagg, who is extending a tentacle into the mired depths of Facebook. He has started an International Cephalopod Appreciation Society group therein.

Dr James Wood apparently has a ceph group in Facebook too, but it appears to have entered a stage of senescence.

UPDATE: You know, there are only ~89,000 of these facebooktopuses left. If someone wanted to get me a gift, you know, I wouldn’t mind.

Saw one of these embiggened octopus plushies today. FAO Schwartz sells them. At ~183 cm across, it’s probably a little too big (and spendy) for Cephalopodcast HQ.

Our octopi [sic] are available in two sizes. The Giant Octopus lives up to his name, reaching almost 63″ from head to tip of tenctacle and he makes a very comfortable pillow. If that’s too big to handle, we also offer a smaller version, constructed of the same richly-detailed plush.

They also have other large, fluffy sea creatures, including sea turtles, hammerhead sharks, walruses, jellyfish, stingrays and clownfish.

Many visitors to this cephaloblog are probably already aware of the plight of the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus. However, there is another, rarer species said to lurk in the farm country of the northeast. And the first photographic evidence of the elusive seven-legged Vermount tree octopus has recently been released. It is an enormous beast which obviously has binocular vision and a hardened siphon. Be aware folks. Be very aware!

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All kidding aside, this concludes my posts for the first annual International Cephalopod Awareness Day. Thanks again to everyone who participated. If you are interested in planning events for next year, head on over to TONMO and join the conversation. And remember, next year it will be 08-October-08!

Sheryl is a sculptor with a couple of quirky works on display. Some are fluffy fantasy while others are bare reality. But the ones that caught my attention the most are her Perma-Pet “cuddlefish”, nudibranchs and octopuppy.

• Octopuppy, Mixed Media Fantasy Sculpture
• YoutTube: Octopuppy Sculpture
• Available as a T-shirt
• Permapets: cuttlefish and nudibranchs
• Cthulhu’s Gems, One of a Kind Fantasy Tentacle Pendants
• Baby Rat, One of a Kind Polymer Clay Sculpture

Related items:

• Different kind of “octopuppy”: Six-legged puppy found in Malaysia (2005)
• How the Moon got its Craters
• oopsy the octopuppy infant and toddler shirts

Celebrate Cephalopod Awareness Day, October 8, 2007

AKA: World Octopus Day, Squid Appreciation Day

We begin our celebration of the First International Cephalopod Awareness Day with a look back. I found this little carbuncle on the Internet Archive, and it proves you can mix the great taste of peanuts butter and octopus. It’s a 1950s show called You Asked For It, and it features a moment in the life of Ben Frick, octopus trapper, Washingtonian and “delightful fella.” Skip the knife thrower and fast forward to minute 07:00 to see all the action.

EDIT: Sorry folks. Internet Archive embedded player isn’t playing nice with Wordpress. Click the image above to open the movie in a new window.

Apparently, octopus wrestling used to be pretty popular in the States around this time, as evidenced by this 1949 article in Modern Mechanix: Octopus Wrestling Is My Hobby. And this one from a 1965 edition of Time, Adventure & the American Individualist:

Merely to minnow about underwater is no longer enough, and such sports as octopus wrestling are coming increasingly into vogue, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, where the critters grow up to 90 Ibs. and can be exceedingly tough customers. Although there are several accepted techniques for octopus wrestling, the really sporty way requires that the human diver go without artificial breathing apparatus.

It would seem that the Japanese continue this tradition, albeit with less lively opponents and the disadvantage of being on land.

• Read more about International Cephalopod Awareness Day, including posts by other bloggers
• “You Asked For It” (ca late 1950s)
• Previously: Vintage Ocean and Science Fair Footage

Unofficial International Cephalopod Awareness Day is on October 8.

This is a good a day as any to celebrate cephalopods. So embrace your inner octopus and let the world know what you think of our tentacled fiendsfriends. If you have a website, consider writing about cephalopods on this day. Share any links, stories or images that you have.

Why October 8? Hope that one is obvious. Spread the word.

• Official Unofficial First International Cephalopod Awareness Day webpage, with links to cephalopod aware bloggers
• Original discussion on tonmo.com
• Free ICAD blog badges in different sizes and colors (black and white)

Various tentacly things aggregating in my inbox:

• Lovecraft x Sendak = Where the Great Old Ones Are
• Michael Leavitt’s Octogirl, an Audrey Kawasaki 10″ art action figure
• Williams-Sonoma: Octopus Cake Pan
  [tip of the tentacle to Karen]

Be sure to also check out Mike Levitt’s DIY Action Figure video. Fascinating.

[via Glenn]

Today’s Too Much Coffee Man comic by Shannon Wheeler is indeed cephalopodtastic. Thanks Glenn!

Anyone else know of funny cephalopod-inspired comics?

• Previously: Cephalopods in the hen house
• Previously: Life of the Giant Squid (cartoon excerpt from The Mr Hell Show)