I have spoken to researchers who have told of octopi that can learn to
unscrew capped jars by watching their human keepers and/or their octopi
neighbors doing this.  Squid and octopi also seem to recognize the humans
that observe them in labs and develop responses to them such as color
changes that indicate pleasure or squirting them with jets of water
(disdain?).  And then there are reports of octopi figuring out that there
are tasty crustaceans in aquaria located in the same room, and staging
midnight raids on same that involved climbing out of their aquarium and
crossing the floor, then returning to "home" before the next morning.
Pretty sophisticated learning for animals that only live a year or two.  I
have often thought that researchers in the field of artificial intelligence
could benefit from studying how cephalopod nervous systems are organized.
I don't know if these creatures are self-aware, but they are certainly
smart, and fast learners.  I still eat calamari, but no longer eat octopus.
I think we kid ourselves if we think molluscs don't sense pain.  As sentient
beings we are responsible for minimizing their pain and making sure the
lives we take are serving a worthy cause.  Food is one thing, aesthetic
appreciation gets close to a line in the philosophical sand, and costume
jewelry bobbles and coffee table decorations are out of bounds (for me).



- John





>From: Ross Mayhew <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Conchologists List <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: [CONCH-L] Collecting cephalopods - same as collecting clams??
>Date: Tue, 15 Jan 2008 13:37:52 -0400
>
>I know this is a recurring topic, but a lot of reasearch has been
>undertaken in the past several years which is germane to the issues
>involved, so perhaps it is time to revisit the question......
>
>One of the arguments most commonly used in defense of shell collecting,
>is that molluscs, with the exeption of the Cephalopods, have rather
>primitive nervous systems so they a) don't really feel "pain" per se,
>and b) are most certainly not self-aware ("sentient") in any sense of
>the concept.  Therefore, killing them for natural-history related
>pursuits is not analagous to say, killing elephants (highly intelligent,
>most definitely sentient life-forms with nervous systems on a par with
>our own) for for hides and tusks or for "trophies" or "sport".  That
>said, many cephalopods definitely ARE intelligent animals with a
>well-developed nervous system: they are not in the same league with
>periwinkles or Donax clams by a long shot!! (sigh - i've just convinced
>myself they shouldn't be collected for anything less than valid
>scientific reasons, and even then, sparingly!!  Good thing my stock of
>this class of Mollusca is VERY small.... it will not be replentished
>now).
>
>The question: can the most intelligent of cephalopods be considered
>self-aware in the same sense that elephants, primates and people clearly
>are?  What has recent research demonstrated with regards to this
>matter?  What exactly would they have to do, before they would be
>generally accepted as sentient beings? (or for that matter, is
>"sentience" the same thing, or as simple as being aware of one's self as
>an individual?
>
>From the whiter than white country of Winter (Mon pays ce n'est pas un
>pays - c'est Hiver!!),
>ross mayhew.
>( http://www.schnr-specimen-shells.com/ )
>
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