3 ms·
I read an entire book on this! It’s because their expected time-to-predation is very short. Genes that are deleterious to long life-span aren’t selected against
by thechao 6y ago
I read an entire book on this! It’s because their expected time-to-predation is very short. Genes that are deleterious to long life-span aren’t selected against and, thus, accumulate. (“Other Minds” by Peter Smith.)
- chrisco255 6y agoAre whales their primary predators?
- steve_adams_86 6y agoI know sharks are a significant predator where I live and in places I’ve seen in documentaries. I’d assume that’s the case around all of the oceans since sharks and octopuses occur together everywhere. I’m not sure if that’s the case in the deep sea, though.
- pvaldes 6y agoProbably not. I had found a few octopus in cetacean's stomachs, but they prefer squids. Gregarious and much more convenient to hunt. Seals on the other time... Yup; I can tell you than monk seals definitely eat octopus.
- thechao 6y agoThe octopuses the author studied were shallow-water reef dwellers. They were predated by fish, mostly.
- nkingsy 6y agoNow I have to figure out how to work "expected time to predation" into a sentence. Maybe the next time I eat the last cookie.