Punching octopuses lead fish on hunting parties

Effective leaders consider all of their options before making a decision. They work with others from different backgrounds. They’re ready to give anyone who steps out of line a swift punch to the gills.

Scientists gathered these leadership lessons by watching a species commonly known as day octopuses, which roam the ocean floor in mixed-species hunting parties. A study published in the journal Nature Ecology &Evolution suggests that while these undersea collaborations benefit both octopuses and their fish partners, the octopuses are in charge.

In earlier research, Eduardo Sampaio, an animal behaviorist in Germany, found that octopuses in mixed hunting groups would occasionally wind up one arm and wallop a fish. It wasn’t clear which fish were the most punch-worthy, or whether the fish and the octopuses were really working together. Fish might have been simply taking advantage of a cephalopod by following behind while it flushed out prey.

To explore those unknowns further, Sampaio and his colleagues captured video footage of 13 group hunts in the Red Sea. They then used computer modeling to reconstruct the hunts in three dimensions and analyzed which animals had influenced the trajectories of others in the group.

As a hunting pack traveled, the various types of fish fanned out around the octopus, essentially providing options for where the group might go next. From these options, the octopus would choose a direction. “The octopus was the one stopping them” from moving, Sampaio said.

When an octopus found an interesting crevice in the coral or rock, it would cover the crack with its body, trying to capture any prey inside. The octopus’ hunting was more efficient when it was traveling with fish partners: It checked out fewer crevices, but spent more time at each one, suggesting it was finding prey to slurp up.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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