The Octopus maya octopus is endemic to the Yucatan Peninsula and is one of the most important fishing resources in the area. At the UMDI Sisal of the UNAM (Yucatán, Mexico) various aspects of the species aimed at its cultivation have been investigated. Octopuses are solitary animals that shelter in shelters mainly to avoid being preyed upon. In this study, the preference of O. maya juveniles for a refuge was evaluated, a preference ranking was carried out and in a second bioassay growth and survival were evaluated by comparing the preferred refuge and the least chosen refuge.
Post-hatching of Octopus maya from a single spawning were used. In experiment 1, an individual was placed in the center of an experimental arena containing five different types of shelters (gastropod shell, artificial raffia grass, PVC tube, PVC elbow, and artificial cave) of two different sizes. After 24 h, the refuge in which the octopus was found was recorded and this was the preferred refuge. The selected shelter was removed from the arena and the octopus was later placed back in the center of the experimental arena for 24 h for a new choice. The same procedure was performed to determine an order of preference.
In experiment 2, the growth and survival rates of octopuses kept under two different treatments were compared: octopuses with their preferred refuge and octopuses last selected refuge.
The octopuses chose PVC tube as their preferred shelter, while they chose raffia artificial grass as the last option (Tabla 1).
Survival at day 16 was greater in the raffia treatment (65.5%) than in the PVC tube treatment (18%). However, the statistical analysis showed that there is no relationship between the refuges and the survival of the individuals. Regarding growth, no differences were observed between the two treatments (p>0.05).