Lab Updates
Updates from the Onthank Lab, including student publications, thesis defenses, research milestones, fieldwork, grants, and other lab news.
Recent Lab News
2025
2025
Joy Williams Successfully Defended Their Thesis on Genetic Sex Determination in Octopus rubescens
Joy Williams successfully defended their thesis investigating the genetic basis of sex determination in Octopus rubescens. Using ddRAD sequencing, their research identified sex-associated genetic markers that provide new insight into chromosomal sex determination in octopuses, contributing to a long-standing question in cephalopod biology.
2025
Brandon Bowers Successfully Defended His Thesis on Disorientation and Vestibular Processing in Octopuses
Brandon Bowers successfully defended his thesis investigating disorientation and vestibular processing in Octopus rubescens. Using a custom-built spinning tank and machine-learning-assisted behavioral tracking, his research explored how octopuses integrate sensory information to maintain orientation and coordinated movement.
2025
Meg Mindlin Successfully Defended Her Thesis on RNA Editing in Octopus
Meg Mindlin successfully defended her thesis exploring how RNA editing may help octopuses respond to ocean acidification. Her work identified acidification-responsive RNA edits affecting zinc finger transcription factors, revealing potential molecular pathways underlying cephalopod resilience in changing oceans.
2024
2024
Ricky Wright Successfully Defended His Thesis on RNA Editing in Octopus Neural Tissue
Ricky Wright successfully defended his thesis examining RNA editing in the nervous tissue of Octopus rubescens exposed to ocean acidification. His research identified widespread editing in neural tissues and explored how elevated CO₂ may suppress RNA editing activity, while also contributing to preliminary genome assembly efforts for the species.
2024
Sofie Sonner's thesis research published in PNAS examines the cost of octopus color change
High energetic cost of color change in octopuses
Sonner S. C. & Onthank K. L.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121:e2408386121
WWU graduate student Samuel Sonner and Kirt Onthank published a study showing that octopus color change carries a high energetic cost. The paper represents a major student-led research accomplishment from the Onthank Lab.
2023
2023
Cheyne Springbett Successfully Defended His Thesis on Burrowing Behavior in Muusoctopus leioderma
Cheyne Springbett successfully defended his thesis investigating burrowing behavior in the deep-water octopus Muusoctopus leioderma. His work combined laboratory observations, field studies, and evolutionary analyses to explore how octopuses construct burrows and how specialized traits associated with burrowing may have evolved.
2023
Lab alum Lydia Kore's research documents a deep-water octopus in a shallow-water bay
The odd octopus: identification and burrowing behaviour of a deep-water octopus, Muusoctopus leioderma, found in a shallow-water bay
Kore L. G., Johnson B. M., Winters M., & Onthank K. L.
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 103:e79
This student-authored study documented the identification and behavior of Muusoctopus leioderma found in an unusual shallow-water setting, adding to the lab’s work on cephalopod behavior and natural history.
2023
Jesse Humbert's open-source camera trap project supports underwater octopus research
The open-source camera trap for organism presence and underwater surveillance (OCTOPUS)
Humbert J. W., Onthank K. L., & Williams K.
HardwareX, 13:e00394
This publication describes an open-source underwater camera trap system developed to expand access to organism monitoring and underwater surveillance in marine research.
2022
2022
Jesse Humbert Successfully Defended His Thesis on Octopus Den Behavior
Jesse Humbert successfully defended his thesis using open-source underwater camera traps to study the den behavior of wild Octopus rubescens. His research revealed daily activity patterns, den interactions, and unexpected social tolerance between octopuses, while also advancing accessible tools for underwater behavioral ecology research.
2022
Jesse Humbert's thesis research reveals surprising den-associated behavior in Octopus rubescens
Den-Associated Behavior of Octopus rubescens Revealed by a Motion-Activated Camera Trap System
Humbert J. W., Williams K., & Onthank K. L.
Integrative and Comparative Biology, 62(4):1131–1143
This study used a motion-activated underwater camera trap system to document den-associated behavior in Octopus rubescens, linking open-source tool development with cephalopod behavioral research.
2022
Student co-authors contribute to deep-sea octopus physiology study
Bathyal octopus, Muusoctopus leioderma, living in a world of acid: First recordings of routine metabolic rate and critical oxygen partial pressures of a deep water species under elevated pCO2
Trueblood L. A., Onthank K. L., Bos N., Buller L., Coast A., Covrig M., Edwards E., Fratianni S., Gano M., Iwakoshi N., Kim E., Moss K., Personius C., Reynoso S., & Springbett C.
Frontiers in Physiology
This collaborative publication included many WWU student co-authors and reported the first measurements of routine metabolic rate and critical oxygen partial pressures for Muusoctopus leioderma under elevated CO2 conditions.
2021
2021
Sofie Sonner Successfully Defended Her Thesis on the Energetic Cost of Octopus Color Change
Sofie Sonner successfully defended her thesis quantifying the energetic cost of octopus color change. Using microrespirometry and excised octopus skin, her research provided the first direct evidence that cephalopod camouflage carries a substantial metabolic cost, revealing hidden energetic demands behind one of nature’s most remarkable adaptations.
2021
Jaydee Sereewit Successfully Defended Their Thesis on RNA Editing in Octopus
Jaydee Sereewit successfully defended their thesis investigating A-to-I RNA editing in Octopus rubescens under ocean acidification conditions. Their research explored how elevated CO₂ may alter molecular editing processes in octopus gill tissue, contributing to the lab’s broader work on cephalopod resilience and environmental adaptation.
2021
Monica Culler-Juarez's thesis research explores the immune response of octopuses under warming and acidification
Elevated immune response in Octopus rubescens under ocean acidification and warming conditions
Culler-Juarez M. E. & Onthank K. L.
Marine Biology, 168:137
This student-led paper examined how ocean acidification and warming affect immune-related responses in Octopus rubescens, contributing to the lab’s broader work on cephalopod physiology in changing oceans.
2020
May 2020
JoMarie Alba Successfully Defended Her Thesis on Octopus Predatory Behavior Under Climate Change
JoMarie Alba successfully defended her thesis investigating how future ocean warming and acidification may alter the predatory behavior of Octopus rubescens. Her work examined hunting strategies, attack behavior, and drill-hole patterns under projected future ocean conditions, helping explore the resilience of cephalopods to climate change.