Publication Date:
2011-11-24
Description:
Malyshev, A., and Quijón, P. A. 2011. Disruption of essential habitat by a coastal invader: new evidence of the effects of green crabs on eelgrass beds. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 68: 1852–1856. Eelgrass ( Zostera marina ) beds have been declining in Atlantic Canada and elsewhere, partly as a result of sediment disruption and direct feeding/cutting of basal meristems by the green crab ( Carcinus maenas ). Green crabs are detrimental to eelgrass beds, and field and laboratory experiments have confirmed that the deleterious role of this invasive species is mediated by at least two mechanisms, depending on the size/age of the crabs: uprooting by adults and grazing by juveniles. Eelgrass uprooting and grazing by green crabs are likely to contribute to further declines or a lack of recovery of eelgrass beds.
Print ISSN:
1054-3139
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9289
Topics:
Biology
,
Geosciences
,
Physics
