A scientometric review of climate change and research on crabs

Abstract

Crabs categorized as cold-blooded organisms are especially at risk as climate change worsens. Their current situation was not well documented, especially in terms of scientometric analysis. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between research on crabs and climate change-related studies, with a focus on identifying trends and hotspots over time. The analysis was based on a collection of over 2834 relevant documents and 107,502 cited references indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database from 1977 to 2022. The findings indicated an increase in research in recent decades, with the USA as the largest contributor, followed by China and Brazil. Researchers from the USA and Germany were among the top published authors in the field. The most highly cited studies in WOSCC focused on the relationship between harmful algal blooms and crab research. Of these studies, 20 clusters were generated, with the most influential cluster identified as related to “ocean acidification,” “blue king crab,” and “mud crab fishery.” The most frequently cited and influential keywords in the field were “climate change” and “hypoxia,” respectively. Our conclusion is that the fields of “research on crabs” and “climate change” are thriving and that further exploration of the adaptation strategies of these organisms is necessary. This knowledge will benefit scientific communities, philanthropic funders or related governments, fisheries-related industries, and NGOs towards the sustainable management of commercial crab species in the future.