World’s Largest Underwater Octopus Garden Discovered
Scientists are amazed by the number of octopuses - at least 20,000 of them - congregating at vast underwater garden off the coast of California.
This extraordinary octopus garden is a major breeding ground where octopuses collect shiny objects, stones, shells, and discarded human items on the ocean floor to craft their dens. First spotted in 2018 and studied extensively by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), it is the largest known deep-sea octopus congregation on Earth. It is home to over 20,000 pearl octopuses - Muusoctopus robustus - which are pale purple and roughly the size of a grapefruit.
Initially, scientists were baffled as to why so many octopuses gather here, but researchers now believe it is because of the warmth from nearby hydrothermal springs. According to research funded by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation, the springs raise the water temperature, boosting the octopuses’ metabolism and speed up egg development. This is almost certainlty why this region of the sea floor is so popular. Researchers found that female octopuses spend about 1.8 years caring for their eggs here, which is much faster than expected for deep-sea octopuses.
Using special underwater tech, scientists counted about 6,000 octopuses in an area that is 2.5 hectares (just over 6 acres) wide. After reproducing, the octopuses die, and their bodies provide an important food source for other animals in the area. These findings suggest that hydrothermal springs may be important for deep-sea octopuses’ survival and reproduction.
The site is located within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, which helps protect the deep-sea habitat and its inhabitants. The sanctuary covers more than 6,000 square miles of ocean along California’s central coast and protects against potentially harmful human interventions. Keeping this fragile habitat protected can help preserve one of the largest known octopus congregations on Earth.
As the Beatles sang in 1969:
"I'd like to be
Under the sea
In an octopus's garden
In the shade"
