The New York Times ran a nice article yesterday on the northward expansion of the hefty (up to 100 lbs.) Humboldt squid. Scientists are queried why the Humboldt squid has, over the last ten years, made a home in Monterey, California (it wasn't because of low taxes). A study of squid stomachs (not quite published) shows one of this this fierce-looking cephalopod's favorite food is hake, one of lead roles in a favorite act: surimi.
The squid have also been migrating south into Chile. Scientists in the article postulate overfishing and climate changes have influenced the Humboldt squid's new settlements.
A drop in stocks of tropical eastern Pacific tuna and billfish -- top predators of the cephalopods that also compete with them for small prey -- may be giving the jumbo squid population room to grow and expand its range north and south, Dr. Zeidberg said.
But some researchers, like Dr. Field, theorize instead that alterations in the ocean environment from climate change are somehow opening up new habitats that the fast-reproducing squids can exploit.
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Undoubtedly climate change plays a large role marine ecosystems, but I feel it that card sometimes overplayed. The data from the Zeidberg paper, while not perfect, provides intriguing correlative data tracking cephalopod abundance to patterns in its predator abundance. I talked about this briefly at my blog here
I just also want to mention that the squid is moving almost equidistantly from a tropical origin, north and south up the western coast of the americas. You only mentioned Chile, but they are also being found in northern California as I report on my blog and Craig at Deep Sea News here. I think it is range expansion because the center of the species distribution is the same.
Cool study though!