Something Squidly

June-July 2005

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
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by Kim Shortreed-Webb

Dr. Sendall holding our recent eight armed arrival: Dosidicus gigas

It has eight arms, 24,000 teeth, can weigh over 300 kilograms, and is normally a southern Pacific resident—the Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas). A small example of this cannibalistic cephalopod (just 1.5 metres and 20 kilograms) was recently found vacationing off Vancouver Island’s west coast. Accidentally longlined by a couple of local fishermen, the squid was about to be turned into calamari before pleas from local scientists had the important specimen preserved at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria.

If you’ve seen 2,000 Leagues Under the Sea, then you’ve seen the Humboldt squid. Disney modelled the dummy creature after this real life monster. The vicious attack of the Nautilus is a reasonable display of its temperament. Often dozens of squid, some more than four metres long, surface from depths of over 750 metres to hunt together in moonlit waters. The squid’s eight arms have a total of 1,200 suckers. Each sucker is lined with 20-26 chitonous teeth, sharp as broken glass. With its oversized parrot-beak mouth, the Humboldt is like a speeding, car-sized blender.

The Humboldt squid gets its name because it lives almost exclusively in the Humboldt Current—a broad swath of warm South American water. This is why the squid had never been seen this far north. Finding a Humboldt squid in BC is like finding a penguin in Hawaii.

As to how it got here, Kelly Sendall, senior collection manager of invertebrates, fish, and herpetology for the Royal B.C. Museum, offers some answers. He says changing global weather patterns have contributed to warm water migration and changing ocean environments in general. Local offshore water temperatures have increased by two degrees in just six years. This may not seem like much, but in terms of the ocean, it’s like suddenly turning a cold pool into a hot-tub.

Ocean data-collection buoys, bobbing 145 nautical miles off Vancouver Island, recently recorded water temperatures as high as 19 degrees Celsius. Sendall suggests such sudden gains are outside the usual spikes and drops of regular ocean changes, such as those brought by El Niño. It may seem farfetched to think that driving your car may be driving sea monsters here, but according to Sendall, global warming has dramatic effects on ocean ecology and species distribution. “If the currents they feed in head north, then these critters will head north with them,” he says. Recently, Humboldt squid were even caught snagging snacks off Alaskan fishermen’s bait lines.

Sendall says the Humboldt squid is a charismatic example of several new species spied in local waters recently. Pelagic, or open-ocean, feeders like blue-fin tuna, yellow-fin tuna, and certain types of mackerel have all been spotted.

Battles in southern waters between sperm whales and giant squid won’t likely be mirrored here between orca and Humboldt squid, but with steady changes in ocean climates, comes a steady influx of new species, all hungry for new prey. As Sendall points out, “There is a lot more diversity of animals in the ocean than on land.” Since the Humboldt squid is already a free-roaming feeder, we may start seeing them here more often. “They live in large groups,” says Sendall. “They’re constantly roaming for food sources, sometimes you’ll have one group feeding on another group.” He continues with a hint of a smile, “We are talking about invertebrates here, cannibalism is not uncommon.” In part, this is how the squid acquired its Mexican name of ‘El Diablo Rojo’ (The Red Devil).

Sendall is not too worried about them though, as most don’t grow big enough to be a real threat. However, he is quick to add, “They’re fast, like a wolf in the water.” And like wolves, Humboldts have the nasty habit of hunting in packs. They descend on whatever they can find, quickly ripping their prey into bite-sized pieces.

But Sendall’s real concern is that the presence of this creature locally reflects worrisome global climate changes. And if such warm-weather trends continue, we could be seeing a lot of changes in our backyard.

© Kim Shortreed-Webb is currently working on his degree in English and Writing at the University of Victoria. A coastal boy all his life, he’s fascinated with all things aquatic, especially cephalopods.