Wonderpus Photos Needed For Ongoing Study To Identify Individuals
Apparently, it's been hard to gather information on the species since they are small, rare, and commercially important to eco-tourism and the aquarium trade which makes extraction study methods impractical. This means that very little is known about the wonderpus, but our photos can help. If you know where your photo was taken, the researchers can gather migration information if there are two different photos of the same individual.
This is a good way to do something with your images. I was about to delete a bunch of unremarkable photos of wondperpus from my recent trip to Lembeh, but now I can do something with them. Get those photos off your hard drive and put them to good use! Note though that the images are really only useful if you know where they were taken.
Here is the all the info about the study and how you can submit your images written by the scientist spearheading the project - Dr. Christine Huffard
What will the pictures be used for?
Wunderpus is one of the most popular animals divers seek in muck, yet almost everything about their lives remains a mystery. We do not know how rare they are, how large an area they roam, or how long they live. Their rarity and their small size have made them especially difficult to study in the past.vWe are currently tracking Wunderpus in the wild using photoidentification. Just like whales, dolphins, manta rays, and whale sharks, each Wunderpus photogenicus has a unique body color pattern. When we compare multiple photographs of the same animal, taken at different times and places, we can learn about their migration patterns, population density, and behavior. What information is needed?
- Clear photographs of Wunderpus photogenicus taken from above.
- Date each photo was taken
- Dive site (such as Aer Perang) and country where each photo was taken. GPS if available.
- Additional information (depth, what it was doing, was it at its den or actively foraging, any conspicuous landmarks nearby)
- Copyright information
How do I contribute?
Email pictures and information to wunderpix@gmail.com
Is this a commercial use?
No. We intend only to use these photographs for research. If we ever wish to post or publish your image, we will contact you for permission. Additionally, we will never give out your personal information.
Where can I find more information?
Visit the website
Read the paper (freely available on the web):
Individually unique body color patterns in octopus (Wunderpus photogenicus) allow for photoidentification by Christine L. Huffard, Roy L. Caldwell, Ned DeLoach, David Wayne Gentry, Paul Humann, Bill MacDonald, Bruce Moore, Richard Ross, Takako Uno, Stephen Wong
Feel free to email me (wunderpix@gmail.com) with questions, comments, or stories about Wunderpus or any other octopuses.
Thank you!
Christine Huffard, Ph.D.
Cephalopod Biologist
