Will Octopuses Soon Be Blind? This is yet another unforeseen consequence of climate change, as highlighted on April 4 in a study by researchers at the University of Adelaide, Australia.
To reach such a conclusion, the research team exposed octopus embryos to different temperatures, following projections from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – which predicts an increase of around 3°C by 2100.
The result: certain proteins essential for vision, involved in eye transparency and photoreceptor function, do not cope well with the thermal stress caused by rising temperatures. This impairs their vision. This consequence is a significant blow for these marine animals, whose vision is essential for communication and for detecting predators and prey. « Impaired vision affects the survival chances of an octopus in nature by increasing the risk of predation and reducing the success of food foraging, » explained Dr. Hua, who participated in this study. He added, « Even a highly adaptable taxon like octopuses may not be able to survive future oceanic changes.
