Abstract
Land crabs are threatened by ocean sprawl even though they act as keystone consumers in coastal forest. Female land crabs must migrate to the sea annually to release larvae. However, they face the risk of road mortality which reduces ecological connectivity. We investigated the spawning migration rhythm and the roadkill of land crab. Migrating crabs and roadkilled crabs were recorded on coastal roads in South Korea from July 28 to August 27 in 2018. Female land crabs mainly released zoeae during spring tide. The number of roadkilled crabs also synchronized with migration peak. A majority (95%) of 739 roadkilled carcasses were female crabs. As a result, the female crabs accounted only 29.6% of the population which can lead to a population decline. The roadkill density was the highest in a residential area without cement guardrails. These results suggest the mitigation actions for land crab roadkill. Among them, prohibiting vehicular traffic between sunset and midnight during spring tides in the breeding season should increase the viability of the population.
Highlights
Land crabs are threatened by ocean sprawl even though they act as keystone consumers in coastal forest
We found the breeding migration of land crabs led to high roadkill density
The breeding migration of Sesarma haematocheirin this study showed a synchronized rhythm related to the moon phase
Summary
Land crabs are threatened by ocean sprawl even though they act as keystone consumers in coastal forest. Female land crabs must migrate to the sea annually to release larvae. They face the risk of road mortality which reduces ecological connectivity. As the ocean sprawl intensifies, coastal developments restrict the movement between land and sea, and reduce land-sea habitat connectivity[3] They create barriers for animals and constrain the migration of vertebrates (e.g., turtles, seals). The physical barriers on the coastal shoreline reduce the population of invertebrates including crustaceans and insects[4], propagating negative effects for of shorebirds, fish, and small mammals[5]. Female land crabs are likely to face roadkill during their breeding migration across the coastal roads. The land crab roadkill does not involve merely adult female crabs and tens of thousands of larvae for each ovigerous crab
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