Many species suffer as a result of climate change, but jumbo Humboldt squid have thrived because of their ability to adapt to new conditions. William Gilly shows how they can alter their diet, feed at a wide range of oceanic depths, and survive anywhere from Alaska to Mexico. As both predators and prey, these squid have a dramatic effect on their ever-expanding habitat -- and we're likely to be eating more squid in the future as they buck the trend of dwindling fish stocks.
A professor of biology at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station, William Gilly and his research team use electronic tags, animal-borne video packages and hydro-acoustics to reveal natural behaviors of squid in relation to physical and biological features of this adaptable predator's environment. Gilly has also studied electrical excitability in nerves, using the squid giant axon as the experimental model system for 25 years. He has a PhD in physiology and biophysics from Washington University and a BSE in electrical engineering from Princeton.