The Effects of Environmental Enrichment on the Ability of Octopus rubescens to Learn Novel Behavior
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Authors
Johnson, Graham D.
Issue Date
2005
Type
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Alternative Title
Abstract
Environmental enrichment provides captive animals complex inanimate and
social stimuli in order to promote the animals' welfare and natural behavior. The
application of enrichment has become commonplace for many animals but has only
recently been applied to in vertebrates. This may be due to a lack of empirical evidence
demonstrating the benefits of enrichment. The effect of environmental enrichment on the ability of Octopus rubescens to learn novel behavior was examined by presenting four octopuses a vial containing a food reward and recording their ability to open it before and after a 30-day period in one of two environmental treatments. Two octopuses were put into an impoverished treatment, which consisted of a bare tank with a black veil preventing external visual stimulation and a diet of frozen fish. Two octopuses were placed into an enriched treatment, which provided a semi-natural environment and the opportunity to perform natural behavior such as hunting live food. The ability of 0. rubescens to learn novel behavior was not aided by enrichment; nor did impoverishment outright impair the learning of a novel behavior. Though
exposure to different environments may affect learning, our limited sample size and the
variable behavior of the subjects prevented any firm conclusions. However we maintain
that enrichment should be included in Octopus animal husbandry until empirical testing
quantitatively demonstrates that it is not beneficial. Further studies would benefit from larger sample sizes and examining other ways of gauging enrichment that do not rely solely on food puzzles.
Description
v, 26 p.
Citation
Publisher
Kalamazoo College
License
U.S. copyright laws protect this material. Commercial use or distribution of this material is not permitted without prior written permission of the copyright holder.