A preliminary assessment of crab predation on epifaunal fouling organisms attached to eelgrass at Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA

Mary Carman,David Grunden

doi:10.3391/mbi.2019.10.4.04

Abstract

A preliminary assessment of crab predation on epifaunal fouling organisms attached to eelgrass at Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, USA

Highlights

We have recently observed Halichondria panicea, Botryllus schlosseri, and Molgula manhattensis attached to eelgrass, and larger crabs in all four ponds
After the one hour and 24-hour experimental periods, only L. dubia showed any feeding activity on the tunicates and sponge attached to eelgrass (Figure 2); C. maenas did not display any predation nor did they kill the molgulids (M. manhattensis)
Our results are the first example that we are aware of that demonstrate predation on eelgrass with H. panicea, B. schlosseri, and M. manhattensis by L. dubia

Summary

Introduction

Eelgrass Eelgrass (Zostera marina Linnaeus, 1758) has been widely recognized as an ecologically important nearshore seagrass that serves as habitat for a wide. Eelgrass provides many important ecologic functions including sediment stabilization, coastal protection, and sequestration of blue carbon (Roman and Able 1988; Barbier et al 2011; Röhr et al 2018). Seagrasses are exposed to a wide range of anthropogenic and natural stressors (Short and Wyllie-Echeverria 1996). Global distributions of seagrasses have been declining and the rate of that decline has recently accelerated (Short et al 2007; Waycott et al 2009). Since the 1990’s, some of the highest annual rates of decline have been in the coastal ponds of Martha’s Vineyard, where declines in areal distribution were approximately 7–9% per year (Costello and Kenworthy 2011)

Methods

Results

Conclusion