andrewducker | And the Squid take over the earth

GIANT squid are taking over the world, well at least the oceans, and they are getting bigger. According to scientists, squid have overtaken humans in terms of total bio-mass. That means they take up more space on the planet than us. The reason has been put down to overfishing of other species and climate change.

Their growth rates also seem to be increasing as is their body size. The findings may offer an answer to the mysterious appearance of a giant squid on the coast of Tasmania last week and hundreds of squid washed ashore on the coast of California this week, although El Nino is also being partly blamed. Squid are now regarded as the "major player'' in the world oceans by sheer volume alone. Overfishing of some fish species has taken away competition for the squid in finding food resources.

The warming of waters due to climate change have also allowed squid to expand their populations. The animal ate anything in that came their way, bred whenever possible and kept growing.

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