Assessing Negative Welfare Measures for Wild Invertebrates: The Case for Octopuses.

ABSTRACT: Welfare metrics have been established for octopuses in the laboratory, but not for octopuses living in the wild. Wild octopuses are constantly exposed to potentially harmful situations, and the ability to assess the welfare status of wild octopuses could provide pertinent information about individuals' health and species' resilience to stressors. Here, we used underwater photos and videos to identify injuries and stress-related behaviors in wild Octopus insularis in a variety of contexts, including interacting with fishermen, interacting with other octopuses and fish, proximity to predators, in den, foraging, and in senescence. We adapted established metrics of octopus welfare from the laboratory to these wild octopuses. In addition to observing all of the stress measures, we also i

SUBMITTER: Andrade MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10571587 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature