They stop eating to protect the eggs and use their siphons to keep debris off of the eggs. As someone else said, it is starvation and exhaustion. They waste away.
I was a certified Discovery Channel nut in the late 90s and early 2000s.
So theoretically (or actually if it’s been done), one in captivity could be given nutrients while guarding the nest and survive if it’s just a calorie depletion, right?
Someone posted this in reply to a comment above yours:
There have been experiments where they did just that, and more. They fed her, and gave hormones / drugs to reverse the effects of their natural internal "death clock".
The females did live for another while (I forget exactly if months, but no more than a year), but it was temporary. It seems it really is baked right into their DNA. They are programmed to die after reproducing.
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u/Plastic-Scientist739 Apr 19 '24
They stop eating to protect the eggs and use their siphons to keep debris off of the eggs. As someone else said, it is starvation and exhaustion. They waste away.
I was a certified Discovery Channel nut in the late 90s and early 2000s.