Diurnal changes in activity and metabolic rate inoctopus vulgaris

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Abstract
The activity of O. vulgaris was monitored continuously in the laboratory. Starving animals are active mainly at night, with an activity peak at .apprx. 2300 h. Feeding in the evening preserves this pattern; feeding at 1000 h or ad lib disrupts but does not reverse it. O2 consumption rises and falls with activity. For a 350 g animal, the Standard Metabolic rate [M.R.] is .apprx. 53 ml O2 Kg-1 h-1, Routine M.R. 72 ml O2 Kg-1 h-1; feeding and movement both produce large increases in O2 consumption. O2 uptake varies as weight 0.7 and shows a Q10 of 1.77. These findings are discussed in relation to previous reports of the O2 consumption of cephalopods, to the diurnal pattern of activity shown by O. vulgaris in the sea, and in relation to the results of training experiments.