| Abstract |
The Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, is currently becoming established along the rocky intertidal coastline of New England. First noticed in New Jersey in 1988 (McDermott 1991), the crab was well established in southern New England by 1996 (Lohrer and Whitlatch 1997, Ledesma and O'Connor in press). Currently, the species' range extends to New Hampshire (McDermott, pers. comm.), with populations along the Massachusetts coastline continuing to grow in size.
H. sanguineus occurs throughout the rocky intertidal zone, reaching maximum densities in the mid to lower intertidal zone. Resident crab species, such as green crabs (Carcinus maenas, which is also nonindigenous), mud crabs in the family Xanthidae, and rock crabs (Cancer spp.) also inhabit the lower rocky intertidal zone. The objective of the study was to determine whether populations of these crabs are affected as H. sanguineus becomes established. Specifically, I asked whether densities of other crab species tend to decrease as densities of H. sanguineus increase. |
O’Connor, N.J. (2001) The Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus in New England: changes in resident crab populations. Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Marine Bioinvasions, New Orleans, La., April 9–11, 2001 : 105–106. 