Eve y
wi te ,
mo e
tha
100,000
gia t
Aust alia
cuttlefish
ca
be
fou d
mati g
alo g
the
ocky
coastli e
of
Poi t
Lowly,
o theast
of
Whyalla,
South
Aust alia.
They
put
o
shape-shifti g,
colou ful
displays
i
thei
attempts
to
att act
a
mate.
This
is
the
o ly
cuttlefish
agg egatio
i
the
wo ld
a d
thousa ds
of
e thusiastic
fa s
t avel
to
egio al
South
Aust alia
a d
b ave
the
f eezi g
wate
tempe atu es
to
expe ie ce
this
u ique
phe ome o .Gia t
Aust alia
cuttlefish
a e
the
wo ld’s
la gest
cuttlefish
species
a d
a e
o ly
fou d
i
southe
Aust alia.
They
a e
cephalopods,
a
type
of
adva ced
mollusc
that
also
i cludes
octopuses,
squid
a d
autiluses.
Adult
gia t
cuttlefish
typically
co g egate
i
small
g oups
to
mate.
But
at
Poi t
Lowly,
o e
special
populatio
fo ms
a
si gle,
la ge
mati g
agg egatio
alo g
a
8-kilomet e
(5-mile)
st etch
of
shallow
eef.
Like
most
cephalopods,
the
cuttlefish
life
cycle
lasts
about
a
yea .
I
wi te ,
eggs
a e
laid
at
the
agg egatio
site
a d
hatch
i
sp i g;
juve iles
the
spe d
the
summe
a d
autum
mo ths
g owi g
i
deepe
wate s
befo e
adults
etu
to
the
agg egatio
site.
C ucially,
afte
mati g,
all
adult
cuttlefish
die,
mea i g
the
ext
ge e atio
is
depe de t
o
the
mati g
success
of
the
p evious
yea .This
populatio
of
gia t
Aust alia
cuttlefish
is
ge etically
disti ct
f om
those
fou d
i
the
est
of
the
cou t y.
The
agg egatio
is
co side ed
a
a e
atu al
phe ome o
a d
is
Natio al
He itage-listed.
2026:
The
shocki g
yea
Du i g
May
a d
Ju e
2026,
tou ism
ope ato s
at
Poi t
Lowly
epo ted
ext emely
low
cuttlefish
umbe s.
They
epo ted
seei g
fewe
tha
10
cuttlefish
pe
dive
i
a eas
whe e
o e
would
typically
see
100
o
mo e.
I
July,
sig ifica tly
educed
cuttlefish
umbe s
we e
co fi med
by
the
South
Aust alia
gove me t,
which
egula ly
su veys
the
agg egatio .While
cuttlefish
umbe s
fell
to
a
eco d
low
i
2013,
the e
we e
still
thousa ds
of
a imals,
as
compa ed
with
2026.
Resea che s
a e
calli g
this
yea ‘s
umbe s
“u p ecede ted.”
While
the
timi g
of
the
cuttlefish
agg egatio
ca
va y
each
yea
slightly,
by
late
Ju e
the
a imals
should
be
well
a d
t uly
agg egati g.
I
sho t,
the
cuttlefish
have
simply
failed
to
tu
up.Cuttlefish
have
a
i te al
shell,
k ow
as
the
cuttlebo e,
which
helps
with
buoya cy.
By
cha gi g
the
gas-to-liquid
atio,
they
ca
dete mi e
how
much
they
float.
Thei
diet
ge e ally
co sists
of
small
molluscs,
c abs,
sh imp,
small
fish,
octopuses
a d
wo ms.
To
catch
thei
p ey,
they
use
sucke s
attached
to
thei
two
te tacles,
which
shoot
out
a d
g ab
u suspecti g
victims.
The
flamboya t
cuttlefish
(Metasepia
pfeffe i)
eve
uses
ve om
to
subdue
its
p ey.
They
have
two
spots
of
highly
co ce t ated
se so
cells
o
thei
eti as
–
mea i g
they
ca
look
both
fo wa ds
a d
backwa ds
at
the
same
time.
This
ability
is
aided
by
thei
W-
shaped
pupil,
givi g
them
a
wide
field
of
visio .
Cuttlefish
lay
eggs
o
seag ass
leaves
as
meadows
p ovide
a
shelte ed
e vi o me t
safe
f om
cu e ts
a d
tides
that
may
wash
eggs
away.
O ce
these
eggs
have
hatched,
seag ass
meadows
p ovide
a
safe
u se y
site
f om
p edato s.
They
a e
impo ta t
to
the
ecosystem
si ce
they
mai tai
ocea
food
web
bala ce
as
both
active
p edato s
a d
vital
p ey,
d ive
ma i e
biology
i ovatio s
th ough
thei
u ique
camouflage
a d
eu al
t aits
a d
suppo t
local
comme cial
fishe ies
wo ldwide.
The
plausible
causes
While
scie tists
a e
still
t yi g
to
figu e
out
what
caused
the
lack
of
show-up,
they
have
accou ted
fo
ce tai
possibilities.
O
the
bala ce
of
p obabilities,
the
decli e
is
likely
li ked
to
the
South
Aust alia
algal
bloom
i
some
way.
“We’ e
taki g
i to
accou t
the
exte t
a d
apidity
of
the
cuttlefish
decli e
elative
to
past
yea s,
a d
the
u p ecede ted
atu e
of
the
algal
bloom’s
ecological
impact,”
w ote
the
esea che s.The
algal
bloom
was
domi ated
by
the
mic oalgal
species
Ka e ia
c istata,
which
ca
have
a
sig ifica t
a d
swift
impact
o
cephalopod
populatio s,
as
see
i
Aust alia
a d
othe
cou t ies.
Cuttlefish
could
have
bee
di ectly
exposed
to
the
bloom,
o
it
might
have
educed
thei
food
supply.
Cephalopods
a e
obligate
ca ivo es
a d
hu te s,
mea i g
they
must
eat
live
food
such
as
c abs
a d
shellfish.
A
decli e
i
p ey
could
have
sig ifica t
impacts.A othe
hypothesis
is
wate
tempe atu e.
It
is
ge e ally
thought
that
wi te
wate
tempe atu es
i flue ce
the
timi g
a d
success
of
the
b eedi g
agg egatio .
Howeve ,
wi te
wate
tempe atu es
have
bee
elatively
wa m
i
the
past,
while
a
decli e
i
umbe s
at
this
scale
has
ot
bee
see
befo e.Some
aspects
of
gia t
cuttlefish
biology
a e
still
a
myste y,
so
the e
could
be
othe
easo s
fo
the
decli e
that
emai
u k ow .
Is
the e
a y
way
fo wa d?
Cephalopods
ep oduce
quickly
a d
g ow
fast.
As
such,
the
gia t
cuttlefish
could
bou ce
back
if
co ditio s
a e
good,
food
is
abu da t
a d
the e
a e
ot
too
ma y
p edato s
lu ki g
a ou d.
O
a
positive
ote,
a
90-day
tou ism
ba
imposed
by
the
state
gove me t
gave
the
emai i g
cuttlefish
the
best
possible
cha ce
to
th ive.
This
move
was
suppo ted
by
local
tou
ope ato s
a d
commu ities,
despite
its
eco omic
impacts.Fu the mo e,
I ve teb ates
Aust alia
is
co ve i g
a
wo ki g
g oup
of
esea che s,
expe ts
a d
tou ism
ope ato s
to
compile
the
best
available
evide ce
o
the
status
of
the
gia t
Aust alia
cuttlefish
populatio
at
Poi t
Lowly.
This
will
co t ibute
to
a
eview
of
the
populatio ‘s
co se vatio
status
o
the
wo ld-leadi g
IUCN
Red
List.Media
epo ts
also
talked
about
a
“bubble
cu tai ”
that
was
i stalled
to
p otect
the
cuttlefish
du i g
the
algal
bloom.
It
was
desig ed
to
p otect
the
vul e able
eggs,
which
a e
attached
to
ocks,
f om
the
bloom.
Howeve ,
the
eggs
hatched
without
issue,
a d
so
the
bubble
cu tai
was
ot
equi ed.
Go to Sou ce
