princex-bird:

kaijutegu:

speculative-evolution:

todropscience:

Ok this is cute but this octopus is living in a brick… Stop polluting our oceans

This brick probably is just junk but it’s worth noting that sometimes “pollution” seen in footage like this isn’t actually garbage. There’s a lot of organizations that take old cars, ships, etc and strip all the paint and other harmful components and then place it in the bottom of the sea for new coral reefs to grow on. Besides that there will unfortunately always be pollution and I would rather it be a brick an octopus can make a home from than plastic bags that sea creatures will die from eating.

Artificial reefs are pretty cool!

They’re often used to provide habitats for corals, fish, and other marine life where the natural ocean floor has been eroded or disturbed by human use. They can be purpose-made like those reef balls up there, or they can be made out of recycled objects like cinderblocks.

While not all human-made materials are safe for reef use (tires used to be a popular choice, but then it was discovered that not only do they not stay put, they tend to leech toxins), sometimes marine life doesn’t actually care- they adapt to what we put in the water. A good example of that is the Rigs-to-Reef program, which takes offshore oil platforms and decommissions them by turning them into artificial reefs. While oil platforms are in use, sea life congregates around them, so instead of abandoning these platforms or removing them, which would disrupt what has become the “new normal” for these animals, they’re toppled and coral grows on them. 

Anyways, I realize that I’ve totally derailed the awesome octopus and its teddy bear, but I just think that artificial reefs are neat! 

@howgayofme