Georgia Karshan

Nautili pompilius are a part of the Cephalopod family found primarily in the Western Pacific Ocean. They have a pinhole eye which means they lack a lens. Because they cannot see very well, they have to rely on other senses such as their olfactory sense, smell. Nautili pompilius are also an endangered species, making it very important for researchers to learn more about their reproduction. Once scientists know more about how Nautili pompilius find partners to mate, then they might be able to more efficiently assist in saving their population. The main focus of this paper was to see if Nautili pompilius used odor to detect and track conspecifics(animals of the same species) and discriminate males from females for reproduction. To figure this out, a y-maze was used with a donor odor and blank stimulus. Each Nautili pompilius endured a 20-minute trial and then their first choice preference was decided. The donor-odor held the smell of a conspecific and the blank stimulus held no odor, so scientists could see which odor the Nautili pompilius preferred. It was found that female Nautili pompilius preferred the male odor over the blank, however, male Nautili had no preference between the male vs. female odor. Additionally, the female tentacles were extended showing arousal, whereas the male tentacles were only slightly extended. Future experiments will likely include the maze with a female vs. male odor instead of a blank stimulus.