July 6, 2010 - For years scientists thought that marsh grasses on Cape Cod were dying. Now it seems a better explanation is that they are being eaten. The culprit is a crab called Sesarma reticulatum, whose appetite for cordgrass is leaving marshes vulnerable to erosion. Human activities such as fishing for crab predators like striped bass may have enabled the exploding crab population. It’s not clear yet “whether this is an unmitigated disaster or whether it’s just an interesting phenomenon,’’ said Robert Buchsbaum, conservation scientist for Mass. Audubon. “There’s a concern about the viability of marshes anyway, with sea level rise, and now you’ve got this crab.’’ Here's the full story from Carolyn Y. Johnson at Boston.com.
Image of Sesarma from NPS.
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