ePoster

Cuttlefish communicate with arm wave signs perceived by mechanoreception in the lateral lines

Sophie Cohen Bodenes, Peter Neri
FENS Forum 2024(2024)
Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Conference

FENS Forum 2024

Messe Wien Exhibition & Congress Center, Vienna, Austria

Resources

Authors & Affiliations

Sophie Cohen Bodenes, Peter Neri

Abstract

Cuttlefish skin is a powerful rendering device capable of producing extraordinary changes in visual appearance over a broad range of temporal scales. Exhibiting a repertoire of chromatic, postural, and locomotion patterns, cuttlefish employ their versatile abilities for both camouflage and communication purposes. Our study introduces a novel form of communication display in the Sepia officinalis species: four distinct arm movements, termed "arm waves," characterized by long-lasting, expressive, and rhythmic bending and undulation. We aimed to investigate whether those signs are communication signals using the visual modality. In our initial experimental setup, we presented cuttlefish participants with videos featuring recordings of themselves engaging in spontaneous arm waving, alongside control videos with inverted orientations. Subsequently, we explored the possibility that these arm wave signals possess a multimodal nature, potentially perceivable through mechanoreception via stimulation of lateral line hair cells. To investigate this, we employed a traditional bioacoustics playback method, a first in cephalopod research. The stimuli comprised recordings of a cuttlefish engaging in arm waving, presented in normal, reversed, and scrambled versions to the participants.Our findings indicate that cuttlefish utilize arm wave signals for both visual and mechanoreceptive communication and mechanoreceptive. This study contributes to opening the debate on vibrational communication through mechanoreception and the involvement of the lateral line for communicative function in cuttlefish.

Unique ID: fens-24/cuttlefish-communicate-with-wave-signs-4ecddc74