Unruly octopuses are the rule: Octopus vulgaris use multiple and individually variable strategies in an episodic-like memory task

Lisa Poncet (1) , Coraline Desnous (1) , Cécile Bellanger (1) , Jozet-Alves Christelle (1)

1 EthoS - Ethologie animale et humaine

Episodic-like memory has mainly been studied through experimental tasks in which subjects have to remember what they ate, where and when or in which context. Seemingly quite common in mammals and corvids, episodic-like memory abilities have also been demonstrated in the common cuttlefish, a cephalopod mollusc. To explore if this ability is common to all cephalopods or if it has emerged to face specific ecological constraints, we conducted an episodic-like memory task with seven Octopus vulgaris. Only one individual learnt the replenishing rates during the training and subsequently showed episodic-like memory abilities, whereas the other individuals favoured simpler foraging strategies, such as avoidance of familiarity and alternation, use of win-stay strategy and risk-sensitivity. A high variability in the use of these strategies was observed between and within individuals throughout the training. Since octopuses seem to live under lighter environmental pressure than cuttlefish, they may not need to rely on episodic-like memory abilities to optimize foraging as cuttlefish do. These results highlight the differences in the use of complex cognitive abilities between cuttlefish and octopuses, which might be linked with different environmental and predatory constraints.

Mots clés: Octopus; Episodic-like memory; Foraging strategies; Individual variability

Domaines: Sciences cognitives; Zoologie des invertébrés

Lisa Poncet, Coraline Desnous, Cécile Bellanger, Jozet-Alves Christelle. Unruly octopuses are the rule: Octopus vulgaris use multiple and individually variable strategies in an episodic-like memory task. Journal of Experimental Biology, 2022, 225 (19), ⟨10.1242/jeb.244234⟩. ⟨hal-03788394⟩