Cuttlefish show flexible and future-dependent foraging cognition

Some animals optimise their foraging activity by learning and memorising
food availability, in terms of quantity and quality, and adapt their
feeding behaviour accordingly. Here we investigated whether cuttlefish
flexibly adapt their foraging behaviour according to the availability of
their preferred prey. In Experiment 1, cuttlefish switched from a
selective to an opportunistic foraging strategy (or vice versa) when the
availability of their preferred prey at night was predictable versus
unpredictable. In Experiment 2, cuttlefish exhibited day-to-day foraging
flexibility, in response to what will happen in the proximate future (i.e.
preferred prey available on alternate nights). In Experiment 1, the number
of crabs eaten during the day decreased when shrimp (i.e. preferred food)
were predictably available at night, while the consumption of crabs during
the day was maintained when shrimp availability was unpredictable.
Cuttlefish quickly shifted from one strategy to the other, when
experimental conditions were reversed. In Experiment 2, cuttlefish only
reduced their consumption of crabs during the daytime when shrimps were
predictably available the following night. Their daytime foraging
behaviour appeared dependent on shrimps’ future availability. Overall,
cuttlefish can adopt dynamic and flexible foraging behaviours including
selective, opportunistic and future-dependent strategies, in response to
changing foraging conditions.