Perhaps most octopus parents have to die simply because they’re way too likely to eat their own offspring?
Or that part of the brain serves some other purpose? (Which could be tested by removing it earlier in life.) The advantages of having one shot mate selection aren’t obvious. Unless there’s some downside to having later clutches, or this is what a species implementing population control** looks like (the benefits of age capping aren’t clear*), all that’s left seems to be guessing RNA evolution changes things.
*Unless you’re trying to accelerate generation rate, or affect how evolution works. (Intuitively, getting rid of adults that are good at staying alive means slowing things down. Maybe it helps with making sure they don’t compete with themselves too much?**)
**It’s not super clear how that would evolve, unless there were conditions that drove species to extinction that didn’t, and we’re looking at the species that didn’t? That doesn’t seem to explain evolutionary pressure leading it to all of them having the trait though.
The only thing it seems to guarantee is a) no intergenerational breeding—of parents and children, and b) maybe regular generation lengths.
ETA: Or making sure they don’t compete with, or teach, their young.
Or that part of the brain serves some other purpose? (Which could be tested by removing it earlier in life.) The advantages of having one shot mate selection aren’t obvious. Unless there’s some downside to having later clutches, or this is what a species implementing population control** looks like (the benefits of age capping aren’t clear*), all that’s left seems to be guessing RNA evolution changes things.
*Unless you’re trying to accelerate generation rate, or affect how evolution works. (Intuitively, getting rid of adults that are good at staying alive means slowing things down. Maybe it helps with making sure they don’t compete with themselves too much?**)
**It’s not super clear how that would evolve, unless there were conditions that drove species to extinction that didn’t, and we’re looking at the species that didn’t? That doesn’t seem to explain evolutionary pressure leading it to all of them having the trait though.
The only thing it seems to guarantee is a) no intergenerational breeding—of parents and children, and b) maybe regular generation lengths.
ETA: Or making sure they don’t compete with, or teach, their young.