Overview

• A new study shows male spear squids' mating tactics are fixed from birth, with early hatches becoming aggressive 'consorts' and later hatches turning into clandestine 'sneakers'.
• Researchers observed over 350 squids to confirm that birth timing affects mating strategies, a hypothesis previously seen only in fish.
• Statolith analysis used to determine squid ages suggests environmental conditions at birth influence their growth and mating tactics.
• The study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, could have implications for understanding how climate change affects marine life.
• This discovery broadens the 'birth date hypothesis' to include aquatic invertebrates, potentially impacting marine resource management.