SHEPHERD, ROSS, & AVILA: HUSBANDRY OF THE COCONUT OCTOPUS 
239 
Ex situ research has also been scant. Amphioctopus marginatus are ‘small-egged’ octopuses; 
they produce copious amounts of very tiny eggs. Sreeja and Bijukumar (2013) observed a female 
that laid approximately 20,000 eggs. Their specimen ate the day she laid the eggs, but did not eat 
again after laying, and died on the eighth day following laying. Amphioctopus marginatus eggs are 
less than 6 mm in diameter, and laid in festoons of 33^5 eggs per centimeter of festoon. They were 
cemented to the inside of a coconut shell den, and the female tended the eggs for around 16 days, 
until they hatched as planktonic paralarvae (Sreeja and Bijukumar 2013). The paralarvae of A. mar¬ 
ginatus, like in other paralarval octopuses, are very tiny (ML approximately 2 mm). It has proven 
difficult to find first-foods to sustain them through the early life stages. Although there has been 
some reported success feeding primarily crab zoea, the survival and settlement rates remain low 
(Carrasco, Arronte and Rodriguez, 2006). 
The California Academy of Sciences has a long-term research program focused in the Philip¬ 
pines. Two of our primary goals are to (1) study and document the tremendous marine biodiversi¬ 
ty present in the more than 7,000 islands that define the Philippines, and (2) to use this knowledge 
to help inform and enhance conseiwation through education, social and scientific outreach — in the 
Philippines, online and in our facility in Golden Gate Park. Over the past twenty years, a particu¬ 
lar focus for marine invertebrate biodiversity surveys is the area known as the Verde Island Pas¬ 
sage (Fig. 2). This region has been called the “center of the center” of marine biodiversity due to 
the presence of more species of reef fishes than anywhere else on Earth (Carpenter and Springer 
2005). In addition, more species of nudibranchs exist in this area than anywhere else on Earth 
(Gosliner, pers. comm.) and there is exceptionally high biodiversity in octocorals, with a single site. 
Devil’s Rock, hosting more species of soft corals than the entire Caribbean basin (Wilhams, pers. 
comm.). Scientists from the Academy have visited this area since the early 1990s, documenting 
species diversity and collaborating with in-country partners such as the Bui'eau of Fisheries and 
Aquatic Resources (BFAR), the National Fisheries Research and Development Institute (NFRDI), 
and the University of the Pliilippines (UP). 
In the mid 2000s, the Academy signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with BFAR 
and NFRDI to foster international collaboration on documenting marine biodiversity, to create a 
fi'amework for the continued training of Filipino students and scientists, and for the development 
of novel animal husbandry techniques. The latter component supports one of Steinhart Aquarium’s 
core strategic goals: to both increase the sustainability of the marine aquarium trade in the Philip¬ 
pines and to foster the development of new economic incentives to protect and stewai'd Philippine 
coral reefs (e.g., through jobs created by the aquaculture of marine aquarium species). Our work 
with the coconut octopus directly supports this aspect of the MOU through the development and 
dissemination of new techniques for the collection, transport, husbandly and captive management 
of a charismatic species that is not currently traded within the international marine aquarium indus¬ 
try. 
Materials and Methods 
Collecting. — Coconut octopuses were collected on two occasions in the Verde Island Pas¬ 
sage area of the Philippines, Batangas Province, Luzon Island, neai' the municipality of Mabini 
(Fig. 2). On both occasions, gratuitous collecting permits were secured through our MOU with 
BFAR and NFRDI. In addition, we obtained Mayor’s permits granting us permission from the local 
government to collect on reefs located within the municipal waters of Mabini and Tingloy. All ani¬ 
mals were collected in shallow water (2-8 meters depth), at night, using SCUBA, at the dive site 
“Anilao Pier” (13°45.62'N, 120°55.56'E). Dives were conducted from local boats, called “bankas”, 
based at the dive resort Club Ocellaris (13°46'N, 120°58'E), with local SCUBA dive guides assist- 
