Humboldt Squid Numbers Booming Off W. Coast - Will Eat Anything, May Be Locking In On Hake Migration

[hatrack]

Although many of the Pacific Ocean's big species are floundering, one large creature of the deep seems to be flourishing. The Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas, also known as jumbo squid, owing to its sizable nature) has been steadily expanding its population and range: whereas sightings north of San Diego were rare 10 years ago, the squid are now found as far north as Alaska.

Many researchers attribute the squid's recent success to the very climate, current and oxygen-level changes that have been hurting populations of other species in the diverse California Current.

"I find their adaptability and their perfection in dealing with anything nature throws at them to be a remarkable feature," says William Gilly, a professor of biology at Stanford University whose lab has spearheaded much of the U.S. work on Humboldt squid. "They're able to explore and take advantage of new environments that are compromised in any way." And they can move quickly, says John Field, a fisheries biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Southwest Fisheries Center, adding: "They're capable of very large migration patterns." Gilly's group recorded one squid that was tagged in Monterey, Calif., and last detected around Mexico 17 days later.

EDIT

As evidence for their impact on U.S. fisheries continues to trickle in, their effect off in Chile, where the squid have been prevalent for much longer than most parts off the U.S. coast, has been more conspicuous: "There's very strong evidence that the squid expansion had a huge impact on the hake fisheries," says Field, who helped organize a symposium on the animal in 2007. "It looks like they're doing the same migration as hake, which concerns me." The squid are making it harder to measure some fish populations, such as the hake. Humboldt are often found in and around hake schools and have a very similar sound signature as the fish, Field explains. So researchers who survey hake populations with hydroacoustics, which uses sound waves to detect and measure marine life, often get unusable data.

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http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=humboldt-squid-expansion

[itsrobert]

1. Who are their natural preadators?

just wondering.

[MineralMan]

2. Calamari eaters.

They make outstanding calamari.

[KeepItReal]

3. Where do I sign up?

Ready to do my part to reduce those numbers!

;-)

[itsrobert]

4. McDonalds better come up with the McCalamari

or the McSquid.

[phantom power]

5. Funny. In my mind, just replaced 'humbold squid' with 'humans'

Still mostly worked.