Behavior Brief

A round-up of recent discoveries in behavior research

Written byCatherine Offord

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An octopus displaying a dominant stance, with spread limbs and dark colorationDAVID SCHEEL (VIA EUREKALERT)

Octopuses use color and postural changes to communicate and potentially avoid conflict, according to a study published last month (January 28) in Current Biology. The findings suggest that the animals have much more complex social interactions than previously thought.

Observing more than 180 interactions between shallow-water octopuses (Octopus tetricus) at Jervis Bay in southeastern Australia, researchers from Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage found that some octopuses stood up tall, stretched out their limbs, and darkened their skin coloration on meeting another octopus. “We suspect this behavior makes the octopus appear as large and conspicuous as it can,” study coauthor David Scheel told New Scientist.

Faced with this intimidating display, some octopuses would shrink back, turn pale, and retreat. But when two octopuses maintained a similarly ...

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Meet the Author

Catherine Offord
After undergraduate research with spiders at the University of Oxford and graduate research with ants at Princeton University, Catherine left arthropods and academia to become a science journalist. She has worked in various guises at The Scientist since 2016. As Senior Editor, she wrote articles for the online and print publications, and edited the magazine’s Notebook, Careers, and Bio Business sections. She reports on subjects ranging from cellular and molecular biology to research misconduct and science policy. Find more of her work at her website.
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