Adaptions to visually noisy environments in cuttlefish

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Many animals rely on their visual systems for a wide range of behavioural tasks. However, visual information can be difficult to detect in environments where other stimuli disrupt visual cues. This so-called 'visual noise' can come as a hindrance for certain behaviours such as prey detection, but can also be exploited by animals, for example, through camouflage. In the marine environment, caustic flicker is a ubiquitous visual noise. However, literature about the effect of caustics on the visual systems and behaviour of marine organisms is sparse. This is no less true for cuttlefish. Despite being considered as highly visual animals and their recent use in numerous studies in the field of vision ecology, little is known about the effect of caustic flicker on their visual processing and their corresponding behavioural aspects. Therefore, I will investigate if and to what degree caustic flicker impairs the vision and behaviour of cuttlefish using state- of-the-art technologies including spatiotemporally synchronised intensity-polarization screens and markerless deep- learning tracking software. Investigating how cuttlefish and other cephalopods behave in caustic environments is not only helpful to further comprehend the dynamic behavioural repertoires and complex cognitive abilities of these invertebrates, it also has broader implications for understanding how animals process visual information, especially in those with vastly different neural circuits to vertebrates.