AUTHOR=Goerger Alice , Darmaillacq Anne-Sophie , Shashar Nadav , Dickel Ludovic 

TITLE=Early Exposure to Water Turbidity Affects Visual Capacities in Cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.622126

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2021.622126

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=In the English Channel the level of turbidity changes seasonally and daily in seawater along the coast. As a consequence, vision in marine species is limited when based only on contrast-intensity. It is hypothesized that polarization sensitivity (PS) may help individuals detect preys and predators in turbid environments. The cuttlefish sensory system is adapted to a range of turbid environments so that rearing cuttlefish in clear water may affect the development of their visual system, and potentially affect their behaviors. To test this, newly-hatched cuttlefish, from eggs brought from the wild, were reared for one month under : clear water (C group), low turbidity (0.1g / l of clay, 50-80 NTU, LT group) and high turbidity (0.5g / l of clay, 300-400 NTU, HT group). The visual capacities of cuttlefish were tested with an optomotor apparatus at seven days and at one month. Optomotor responses of juveniles were measured by using three screen patterns (black and white stripes, linearly polarized stripes set at different orientations, and a uniform grey screen). Optomotor responses of juveniles suggest that exposure to turbid water improves the development of their PS when tested in clear water but not when tested in turbid water. We suggest that the use of slightly turbid water in breeding systems may improve the development of vision in young cuttlefish with no detrimental effect to their survival rate. Future research will consider water turbidity as a possible factor for the improvement of cuttlefish well-being in artificial rearing systems.