From Dr. M in 2007:
If you been keeping up here at DSN, you probably already know that Humboldt squid are invading further north up the Pacific Coast. Dosidicus gigas are voracious pack hunters occurring historically from Chile to Baja California. Occasionally, they are reported as far north as San Francisco and in the last few years strandings of Humboldts as far north as BC have occurred. Mass strandings are a common occurrence in Southern California. This may sound cool…who doesn’t love a big squid in their backyards? The problem is they may be decimating populations of Pacific hake, an important commercial fish. The culprit for the squid’s advances…no not global warming…overfishing. “Ironically, these squid may have benefited from the decline of large tuna and billfish in the Equatorial Pacific, which previously preyed upon and competed with the Humboldt squid for food.”
The first scientific documentation of the pattern and potential underlying mechanisms occurs in a fascinating study from Louis Zeidberg, formerly of MBARI and now at Hopkins Marine Station, and Bruce Robison and published in PNAS.
The study relies on MBARi’s video archive from ROV dives, spanning back to 1989, to document the Humboldt in Monterey Bay. Ziedberg and Robison found “no observations of Humboldt Squid from 1989 to 1997. During 1997, however, large numbers of Humboldt squid were seen for a year or two after a strong El Nino event brought warm water northward along the coast and into Monterey Bay. From 1999 until 2002, just a few Humboldt squid were seen during ROV dives. In 2002, however, large numbers of squid appeared after a mild El Nino event, and they have been abundant ever since.”
The authors hypothesize that El Nino driven currents carry Humboldts northward to new feeding areas but they die out quickly. However since 2002, populations have rooted in the bay potentially reflecting a decrease in the number of predators and competitors such as large tunas and billfish. The study further demonstrates a reduction in hake within a month after Humboldt squid increased in Monterey Bay.
From Dr. M in 2009:
Point 1: The Giant Squid is Architeuthis dux. The Humboldt (or the Red Devil or Jumbo) Squid is Dosidicus gigas
Point 2: The Humboldt Squid while large at ~2m in length and 45kg is not as large as the Giant Squid at 10-14m in length and 200-300kg.
Point 3: The Humboldt Squid can be found at depths of 0-1000m. The Giant Squid, while its true depth range is unknown, is likely deeper, i.e. you will probably not find it in scuba diving depths.
Point 4: The Humboldt Squid is found in high densities along the California coast. You can probably see them on a dive or catch them fishing. The Giant Squid remains elusive to scientist and the public. You cannot see them diving and rarely (i.e. almost never) catch them fishing.
Point 5: The Humboldt Squid is not in the same genus or indeed the same family as the Giant Squid.
Point 6: To summarize the Humboldt Squid is not the Giant Squid.
Point 7: To say a Humboldt Squid is giant is fine, to call a Humboldt Squid a Giant Squid is wrong.
Point 8: If you are a member of the press (Not the New York Times! I expected better), please get your @#$% together. Its called research and it is is what you are supposed to do before you write your piece. You can see additional fun here. So no, thousands of Giant Squids did not wash ashore after an earthquake and Giant Squid are not invading the waters off Southern California.
Point 9: And don’t even get me started on all that is wrong with this video. I will leave that for commentors.
Share the post "KRAKEN Day: Humboldts, They’re Here to Stay and They’re NOT Giant Squid"
Do sperm whales eat them?
Yay! Squid Fail is one of my favorite DSN classics. Re: Humboldts being here to stay, it should be noted that they’ve pulled a disappearing act, making us all even more curious about the complex links between their range expansion, climate, and ecology.