Ecology Summary - Bolitaena pygmaea

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Ecology of Bolitaena pygmaea

Main Ref.	Turgeon, D.D., J.F. Quinn Jr., A.E. Bogan, E.V. Coan, F.G. Hochberg, W.G. Lyons, P.M. Mikkelsen, R.J. Neves, C.F.E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F.G. Thompson, M. Vecchione and J.D. Willams, 1998
Remarks	Depth range from 100 to 1,400 m. These small pelagic octopuses typically live over deeper water. Young animals tend to occur in the shallower end of the range. As members of this species reach sexual maturity the iridescence of the digestive gland and eyes is lost and animals migrate to deeper darker waters. Pigmentation greatly increases in females as they mature and the arms become relatively longer. Increased pigmentation may be associated with the need to mask output from the female's circumoral light organ. This light organ may be used for reproductive signalling to males. The posterior salivary glands of mature males are greatly enlarged and have been suggested to produce a chemical attractant for females (Ref. 96968).

Main Ref.

Turgeon, D.D., J.F. Quinn Jr., A.E. Bogan, E.V. Coan, F.G. Hochberg, W.G. Lyons, P.M. Mikkelsen, R.J. Neves, C.F.E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F.G. Thompson, M. Vecchione and J.D. Willams, 1998

Remarks

Depth range from 100 to 1,400 m. These small pelagic octopuses typically live over deeper water. Young animals tend to occur in the shallower end of the range. As members of this species reach sexual maturity the iridescence of the digestive gland and eyes is lost and animals migrate to deeper darker waters. Pigmentation greatly increases in females as they mature and the arms become relatively longer. Increased pigmentation may be associated with the need to mask output from the female's circumoral light organ. This light organ may be used for reproductive signalling to males. The posterior salivary glands of mature males are greatly enlarged and have been suggested to produce a chemical attractant for females (Ref. 96968).

Aquatic zones / Water bodies

	Marine - Neritic	Marine - Oceanic	Brackishwater	Freshwater
Marine zones / Brackish and freshwater bodies	supra-littoral zone littoral zone sublittoral zone	epipelagic mesopelagic epipelagic abyssopelagic hadopelagic	estuaries/lagoons/brackish seas mangroves marshes/swamps	rivers/streams lakes/ponds caves exclusively in caves

Highighted items on the list are where Bolitaena pygmaea may be found.

Habitat

Substrate	Pelagic;
Substrate Ref.	Judkins, H.L.M., M. Vecchione and C.F.E. Roper, 2009
Special habitats
Special habitats Ref.

Associations

Ref.
Associations
Associated with
Association remarks
Parasitism

feeding

Feeding type	mainly animals (troph. 2.8 and up)
Feeding type Ref.	Passarella, K.C. and T.L. Hopkins, 1991
Feeding habit
Feeding habit Ref.

Trophic Level(s)

Estimation method	original sample		unfished population		Remark
Estimation method	Troph	s.e.	Troph	s.e.	Remark
From diet composition
From individual food items	3.66	0.44			Trophic level estimated from a number of food items using a randomized resampling routine.
Ref.

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