The behavioural ecology of Sepiolidae (Cephalopoda: Sepiolida): a review

ABSTRACT

Sepiolidae (Cephalopoda: Sepiolida) are growing in popularity as model organisms, not least because of their well-studied symbiotic relationship with light producing bacteria. Their easy maintenance and cultivation requirements in captivity have further facilitated their use in a wide range of developmental, anatomical, neurophysiological, behavioural and genetic studies, exhibiting promising opportunities for these cephalopods in research. Considering the rising interest in sepiolids, a detailed overview of their behavioural ecology is necessary to understand their evolution and conservation, as well as to aid establishment of good welfare practice when held in captivity. To date, not all aspects of the sepiolid ecology have been investigated in detail, and our current knowledge of their behavioural ecology is, for the most part, restricted to descriptions from less than 10 of the approximately 80 species, occasionally resulting in a generalisation of specific observations across species, genera, or even subfamilies. This review summarises current knowledge on sepiolid behavioural ecology and life history, including discussions on their habitat, life span, activity patterns, hunting and feeding behaviour, anti-predator behaviour, burying behaviour, and reproductive behaviour. Moreover, future directions as well as areas of interest for upcoming research studies are highlighted.

KEYWORDS:

• Anti-predator behaviour
• bobtail squids
• burying
• hunting
• mating
• model organism
• mollusc
• reproductive biology
• sepiolid
• spawning

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Dr. Antonio V. Sykes and Dr. Gavan M. Cooke for their comments on an earlier version of this manuscript, as well as Helena C. Brown, Dr. James Herbert-Read, and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments on the latest version of this manuscript. Additionally, the author would like to thank Bas and Mirjam van der Sanden for providing some of the photographs displayed in this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).