ALBERT

Description: North Atlantic deep sea cephalopods caught in research nets (mouth opening of9 m2) and I arge commercial trawls are compared with those eaten by Sperm Whales. 1t is shown that at three latitudes the nets and whales sample cephalopods very differently. Research nets are biased towards collecting small species and young specimens of several families, principally gonatids, cranchiids, enoploteuthids and onychoteuthids, while sperm whales are biased towards catching much !arger cephalopods, particularly histioteuthids. Commercial trawls tend to bridge the gap in size of cephalopods selected by research nets and whales but where comparisons are possible they have a bias towards catching enoploteuthids. The contribution by numbers and weight of different cephalopod families to the cephalopod fraction of the diet of sperm whales throughout the world is reviewed. A detailed study of Antarctic cephalopods in the diet of large predators including cetaceans, seals and birds indicates areas where more knowledge is required to make accurate estimates of the biomass of Antarctic cephalopods consumed. The value of direct studies of food webs for quantitative consideration of particular cephalopod taxa is demonstrated and discussed.

Description: This paper reviews the current status of systematics of Recent cephalopods (squids, cuttlefishes, octopuses and nautiluses) on a world-wide basis. It includes lists of recent revisionary publications (1960-1981), and revisions in progress. Problems that impede progress in cephalopod systematics are discussed, including the taxonomic and geographic complexity of the group, lack of comprehensive collections and well preserved specimens, scarcity of classical studies, scattered literature, and lack of funding for research and education. The situation in Australia is cited as an example of the status of cephalopod systematics in most other regions of the world. A list of Australian species in four major families (Sepiidae, Loliginidae, Ommastrephidae, Octopodidae) is presented, as is a bibliography of the cephalopod biological literature of the Australian region. Recommendations are given in an effort to improve the status of cephalopod systematics and consequently to provide information required in other fields (e.g., biomedical research, behavior, ecology, parasitology, fisheries biology): (I) recognition of need for research and education and for increased funding to support them; (2) training and development of regional (geographic) specialists as well as taxon-oriented (world-wide) specialists; (3) support and production of keys to identification, catalogues of important collections, and revisions and monographs; (4) establishment of national, regional, and world-wide authoritative reference collections; (5) designations of four major families of cephalopods in critical need of comprehensive systematic revision (Sepiidae, Loliginidae, Ommastrephidae, Octopodidae)