The southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (Hoyle, 1883) is a nocturnal species that exhibits a mating system in which females hold sperm from multiple males over a one to two month breeding window before laying a single egg clutch. Contrary to most studied animal mating systems where anisogamy exists, gamete package production is limited for both males and females of this species (~50 spermatophores/eggs). This presents an animal model for studying aspects of sperm competition and dynamic mate choice behaviours. The present study reports on the mating behaviour of H. maculosa observed under laboratory conditions using infrared closed-circuit television video footage. Rates of male copulation attempts increased with male size, while female receptivity to mating attempts increased with female size, resulting in larger animals of both sexes gaining more copulations and spending more time per day in copulation. There was some evidence of female preference of larger males, but no male preference of females based on measured morphological traits. Both sexes terminated copulations in equal frequencies but male-terminated copulations were significantly shorter in duration. Males were more likely to terminate copulation early with females they had previously mated with, however were less likely to do so if the female had recently mated with a different male. Among male-terminated copulations, males mated for longer with females that had previously mated with other males in the trial. Male-male mounts were as common as male-female mounts, suggesting that male H. maculosa are not able to discriminate the sex of conspecifics. These findings suggest male strategic allocation of spermatophores based female mating history is an important factor influencing mating behaviours of this species.ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: mate choice -Octopus -operational sex ratio -sperm competition.

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The cephalopods (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) are an exceptional class among the invertebrates, characterised by the advanced development of their conditional learning abilities, long-term memories, capacity for rapid colour change and extremely adaptable hydrostatic skeletons. These traits enable cephalopods to occupy diverse marine ecological niches, become successful predators, employ sophisticated predator avoidance behaviours and have complex intraspecific interactions. Where studied, observations of cephalopod mating systems have revealed detailed insights to the life histories and behavioural ecologies of these animals. The reproductive biology of cephalopods is typified by high levels of both male and female promiscuity, alternative mating tactics, long-term sperm storage prior to spawning, and the capacity for intricate visual displays and/or use of a distinct sensory ecology. This review summarises the current understanding of cephalopod reproductive biology, and where investigated, how both pre-copulatory behaviours and post-copulatory fertilisation patterns can influence the processes of sexual selection. Overall, it is concluded that sperm competition and possibly cryptic female choice are likely to be critical determinants of which individuals' alleles get transferred to subsequent generations in cephalopod mating systems. Additionally, it is emphasised that the optimisation of offspring quality and/or fertilisation bias to genetically compatible males are necessary drivers for the proliferation of polyandry observed among cephalopods, and potential methods for testing these hypotheses are proposed within the conclusion of this review. Further gaps within the current knowledge of how sexual selection operates in this group are also highlighted, in the hopes of prompting new directions for research of the distinctive mating systems in this unique lineage.

The southern blue‐ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (Hoyle, 1883) lacks a planktonic dispersal phase, yet ranges across Australia's southern coastline. This species’ brief and holobenthic life history suggests gene flow might be limited, leaving distant populations prone to strong genetic divergence. This study used 17,523 genome‐wide SNP loci to investigate genetic structuring and local adaptation patterns of H. maculosa among eight sampling sites along its reported range. Within sites, interrelatedness was very high, consistent with the limited dispersal of this taxon. However, inbreeding coefficients were proportionally lower among sites where substructuring was not detected, suggesting H. maculosa might possess a mechanism for inbreeding avoidance. Genetic divergence was extremely high among all sites, with the greatest divergence observed between both ends of the distribution, Fremantle, WA, and Stanley, TAS. Genetic distances closely followed an isolation by geographic distance pattern. Outlier analyses revealed distinct selection signatures at all sites, with the strongest divergence reported between Fremantle and the other Western Australian sites. Phylogenetic reconstructions using the described sister taxon H. fasciata (Hoyle, 1886) further supported that the genetic divergence between distal H. maculosa sites in this study was equivalent to that of between established heterospecifics within this genus. However, it is advocated that taxonomic delineations within this species should be made with caution. These data indicate that H. maculosa forms a clinal species pattern across its geographic range, with gene flow present through allele sharing between adjacent populations. Morphological investigations are recommended for a robust resolution of the taxonomic identity and ecotype boundaries of this species.

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White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) are highly visual predators, leading to the hypothesis that the predation risk for foraging Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus) might differ with ambient light conditions. This study investigated the relationship between environmental fluctuations of ambient light and the traversing behaviour of Cape fur seals in and out of their colony at Mossel Bay, South Africa to better describe potential predator avoidance strategies. A total of 12,144 traversing events were observed over a four-year period and there was an overall trend for Cape fur seals to traverse less often but in relatively larger group sizes during periods when white sharks are suggested to be more active.Specifically, Cape fur seal activity was reduced during winter when white sharks are most actively hunting, and most traversing behaviour occurred at night when Cape fur seals were less likely to be detected by white sharks. However, among nocturnal observations Cape fur seal group sizes increased significantly with moonlight. Although nocturnal predations of Cape fur seals by white sharks have been observed before in Mossel Bay, this is the first study to indicate Cape fur seals might respond to the increased risk of improved white shark visual acuity during moonlit nights by seeking safety in numbers while foraging. Further investigations are needed to assess the effect of the lunar cycle on white shark nocturnal hunting behaviour, but observations presented here suggest that white sharks may pose a bigger threat to Cape fur seals under the light of a full moon.

Social recognition is the ability of individuals in a species to differentiate among conspecifics based on their identity or biologically meaningful demographic. Despite evidence that they have sophisticated brains, complex behavioural repertoires, and acute sensory processing, surprisingly little is known about mechanisms aiding social recognition in cephalopods. This class’s unique chemotactile sense by the ventral arm surfaces gathers considerable information used in predator–prey interactions. Does it also help mediate social interactions? This study utilised 366 h of focal animal observations to assess the likelihood of Hapalochlaena maculosa, a nocturnal species, to retreat after physically contacting conspecifics based on their sex, familiarity and mating history. Females retreated from both sexes equally, while males were more likely to retreat after contacting female conspecifics. Most conspicuously, males were significantly more likely to retreat after contacting females with which they had already mated. These findings provide the first evidence for chemotactile sex discrimination and mate recognition within cephalopods, and supplement previous observations that male H. maculosa do not appear to detect the sex of conspecifics from a distance. The decision to retreat from or stay with an individual based on their sex or mating history, only after physical contact, emphasises the importance of chemotactile behaviour in octopus sensory ecology and behaviour. Furthermore, male octopuses have limited spermatophore production, and the use of chemotactile social recognition observed here may highlight the importance of reproduction, specifically sperm allocation and avoidance of sexual cannibalism, on the evolution of sensory ecology and cognition within this lineage.