Duke to share a $7.5 million study on octopuses - Triangle Business Journal:

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million grant to study how octopuses and squir use mental powers tocamouflage themselves. The five-year Multidisciplinaruy University ResearchInitiative (MURI) study is funded by the and includese researchers from Duke, the and UC San Diego’s Scripps Institut of Oceanography. Sonke Johnsen, a Duke associate professof of biology andthe project’s principall investigator, says they are looking to study how the hundreds of species classified as octopuses or squids, see the worlfd and respond. Cephalopods have the ability to adjust their skin colors and pattern to hide from predatorsor prey.
Some are even able to emit their own light to eliminate shadows that would exposertheir silhouettes. To conduct their study, the researchers will construct a “Star Trek”-like underwater holodecmk that will allow researchers to manipulate lighting to mimic oceab conditions and see how enclosed creatures respond. "We will be able to changee the colors, resolution, speed and everything else so that we can step insidre their visual world underlaboratory conditions," Johnsenn said. "We will be able to show them natural but then also scenes that have been alteredc indifferent ways. The holodeck will be like a virtuaol reality machine forthe ocean.
In the world of marine biology we know of no other like A second group of researchers led by the will wrok towardsimilat goals. They also received $7.5 million from the Navy. The Duke-les researchers will conduct expeditions on islands off Californiza and the Pacific Island of Palau whilew the Texas group will work in the Floridaz Keys and the Gulfof