The ocean has become so polluted with human waste that it is easier for an animal to shelter in our trash than it is in seashells or coral.
A systematic review of underwater photographs and videos from around the world has found 24 different species of cephalopod.
Scientists and divers have observed the laying of eggs on abandoned fishing gear. Some of these clever creatures have been caught using glass bottles, ceramic pots, metal pipes, rusted cans, or plastic cups to put a roof over their heads.
In areas where human tourists have collected too many sea shells, cephalopods of all ages have been forced to adapt or die.
Human waste is a useful alternative to natural forms of protection, but researchers are worried about what will happen if these clever creatures become too dependent on our litter for refuge.
The authors warn that the apparent positive effect could have several detrimental and indirect consequences.
Some rubbish can expose animals to toxic chemicals or heavy metals.
One of the photos collected in the review actually shows an octopus clinging to a heavily degraded battery, which is considered a very polluted type of debris.
The authors note that some newly described species, like the pygmy octopus in Brazil, have only ever been seen in litter. There are no official records of this species using natural items like seashells for shelter, probably due to a scarcity of that material in its environment.
The beer cans that are thrown into the water by tourist boats are the home of the pygmy octopus. When divers clean up marine waste, they often don't realize the cans they are collecting are hiding octopuses. It is not uncommon to find pygmy octopuses wandering around on dive boats after such efforts.
The authors of the current review were able to gather a number of underwater images and videos of octopuses interacting with marine waste. The majority of the photographs and videos were gathered on social media with the permission of the original authors, but some were also contributed by scientists and marine research institutions.
The examples are of an animal interacting with litter.
The first time researchers have recorded this, they found that deep-sea octopuses in the Mediterranean are making use of sinking rubbish.
The authors found that records of the interaction between the two animals had increased in the last few years. It could be that underwater photographs are easier to take now than ever, but it could also be a sign that the problem of marine waste is getting worse.
Despite these descriptions, few studies have focused on the interactions between cephalopods and marine litter, and scientific information on this subject has barely been updated over the last decades.
Some important results have been revealed in the initial review.
When the authors expected plastic to be the most common material used by the octopus, they were wrong, as just over 40 percent of interactions were with glass bottles.
In comparison, roughly 24 percent of the octopus interactions were with plastic, and the creatures tended to sit on top of or burrow into these materials, as opposed to hiding inside of them.
There is a dead animal inside a plastic container. There is Andriy Nekrasov.
It's easier to break apart glass than it is to break apart other objects. It is more difficult for hungry animals to reach inside due to glass bottlenecks.
The authors note that the texture of glass may be more similar to plastic than seashells.
There is a coconut in a bottle. The images were taken byWhitcombeRD.
The coconut octopus was the most common species that interacted with our waste. This species usually covers its head and body with a shell or coconut fortress, while still allowing its legs to move.
There were nine accounts in the review of how the octopuses use human waste to walk.
Shells have become scarce and human waste is common, and five images show the competing abilities of an animal for an artificial shelter.
Look what we made them do.
An animal in a jar. Steven Trainoff is a doctor.
The study was published in a journal.
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