which largely corresponds with the principles of the Forsythe
effect. Where "as hatching occurs over a period of increasing water
temperatures, each monthly cohort will encounter warmer tem
peratures and thus grow significantly faster than cohorts hatched
previously" (Forsythe, 2004). Alignment of the For
only weeks Effect with the six-month hatching pulses, indicates that octopuses
hatched during periods of ascending temperatures have potentially
higher growth rates than those during periods of descending tem
peratures. These temperature effects on growth rates signify the
potentially strong influence hatching pulse timing may have on
recruitment dynamics (Demarcq and Faure. 2000). To unravel the
influence various biotic and abiotic variables may have on the O
(cf tetricus population and fishery, will require a longer time series
with a focus on consistency and large sample sizes, which is cur
rently being put into effect.
The reduced growth rates of immature octopuses hatched dur
ing peak temperatures, suggests that temperatures 22 C are
above the optimum for this species. Long term temperature data