Name: assessing intertidal populations of the invasive european green crab
Uploaded: 2020-09-16T15:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Assessing Intertidal Populations of the Invasive European Green Crab at JoVE.com

I would like to acknowledge the many researchers, students, teachers, and citizen scientists who have tested and helped me improve this protocol over the past several years: Dr. Gabriela Bradt, Dr. Robert Steneck, Erica Ferrelli, Ethel Wilkerson, Susan Ayers and the Georgetown Central School 3rd and 4th grade students, Julie Upham and the West Bath Elementary 4th grade students, the GMRI Vital Signs team, and the Idexx Laboratories Community Service Volunteers. I thank Anne Hayden, Caitlin Cleaver, and Hannah Webber for providing comments and suggestions on this manuscript. I thank the following funding sources for supporting the development and execution of this protocol: NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program (Grant #NA18NMF4270194), Maine Sea Grant, Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation, and the Georgetown Island Education Fund. Finally, this manuscript was greatly improved thanks to comments and edits provided by three anonymous reviewers.

1. Timing of survey work
<ol>
	<li>Conduct surveys between May-November, during the height of productivity in the intertidal zone.</li>
	<li>Schedule surveys around negative or zero tides (generally new and full moon cycles) to allow for adequate time in the low intertidal zone (i.e., at least 2 hours).</li>
</ol>
2. Pre-survey preparation
<ol>
	<li>Locate and print all field guides and data collection sheets (see Appendices) prior to conducting the survey if that is the preferred method. If u...

<ol>
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C., Short, F. T., Burdick, D. M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Quantifying+the+effects+of+green+crab+damage+to+eelgrass+transplants.">Quantifying the effects of green crab damage to eelgrass transplants.</a> Restoration Ecology. 6, 297-302 (1998).</li><li>Garbary, D. J., Miller, A. G., Williams, J., Seymour, N. R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Drastic+decline+of+an+extensive+eelgrass+bed+in+Nova+Scotia+due+to+the+activity+of+the+invasive+green+crab+(Carcinus+maenas).">Drastic decline of an extensive eelgrass bed in Nova Scotia due to the activity of the invasive green crab (Carcinus maenas).</a> Marine Biology. 161, 3-15 (2014).</li><li>Congleton, W. R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Trends+in+Maine+softshell+clam+landings.">Trends in Maine softshell clam landings.</a> Journal of Shellfish Research. 25, 475-480 (2006).</li><li>Pershing, A. J., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Slow+adaptation+in+the+face+of+rapid+warming+leads+to+collapse+of+the+Gulf+of+Maine+cod+fishery.">Slow adaptation in the face of rapid warming leads to collapse of the Gulf of Maine cod fishery.</a> Science. 350, 809-812 (2015).</li><li>Young, A. M., Elliott, J. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Life+history+and+population+dynamics+of+green+crabs+(Carcinus+maenas).">Life history and population dynamics of green crabs (Carcinus maenas).</a> Fishes. 5, (2019).</li><li>Young, A. M., Elliott, J. A., Incatasciato, J. M., Taylor, M. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Seasonal+catch,+size,+color,+and+assessment+of+trapping+variables+for+the+European+green+crab+Carcinus+maenas+(Brachyura:+Portunoidea:+Carcinidae),+a+nonindigenous+species+in+Massachusetts,+USA.">Seasonal catch, size, color, and assessment of trapping variables for the European green crab Carcinus maenas (Brachyura: Portunoidea: Carcinidae), a nonindigenous species in Massachusetts, USA.</a> Journal of Crustacean Biology. 37, 556-570 (2017).</li><li>St-Hilaire, S., Krause, J., Wright, K., Poirier, L., Singh, K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Break-even+analysis+for+a+green+crab+fishery+in+PEI,+Canada.">Break-even analysis for a green crab fishery in PEI, Canada.</a> Management of Biological Invasions. 7, 297-303 (2016).</li><li>Poirier, L. A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Moulting+synchrony+in+green+crabs+(Carcinus+maenas)+from+Prince+Edward+Island,+Canada.">Moulting synchrony in green crabs (Carcinus maenas) from Prince Edward Island, Canada.</a> Marine Biology Research. 12, 969-977 (2016).</li><li>Peters, G. P., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+challenge+to+keep+global+warming+below+2+C.">The challenge to keep global warming below 2 C.</a> Nature Climate Change. 3, 4-6 (2013).</li><li>Masson-Delmotte, V., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=IPCC.+Summary+for+Policymakers.">IPCC. Summary for Policymakers.</a> Global Warming of 1.5 &#176;C. 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This protocol describes a survey method for assessing spatial and temporal trends of crab populations in the rocky intertidal zone that is accessible to multiple users including researchers, educators, students, and citizen scientists. The benefits of this protocol include the following: it does not require specialized or expensive equipment, the methodology is approachable for a wide range of skill levels (e.g., 3rd and 4th grade students have successfully used it), and it can easily be adapted to ...

Biological invasions can potentially disrupt species interactions and ecological processes, and may have far reaching ecological1,2,3 and economic consequences4. The ability to successfully predict, mitigate, and adapt to invasions strongly depends on characterizing spatiotemporal population dynamics5. While a range of tools exist (e.g., population genetics, stable isotopes) and are emerging (e.g., eDNA) for tracking invasive species, traditional in situ monitoring techniques continue to be widely utilized for assessing invasive species distribution and abundance.
The European green crab (Carcinus maenas) is an invasive species that was first detected in North America in 1817 and has successfully invaded ecosystems worldwide6,7. Green crabs have a multitude of negative impacts on local ecosystems, including reducing native bivalve populations through predation8,9, competing with native crustaceans for food and shelter10,11,12 and destruction of eel grass habitat and subsequent changes to fish community structure12,13,14. Compounding these issues is the link between increasing temperature and increasing green crab abundance and/or range expansion15,16, which has had severe ecological and socio-economic consequences in areas such as the Gulf of Maine, where warming is occurring faster than 99% of the world&#8217;s other oceans17.
On the eastern seaboard of North America, green crabs range from Virginia to Newfoundland. They are most commonly found on wave-protected shorelines, estuaries, and embayments in depths ranging from the high tide level to 5-6 m18. Their presence in the intertidal zone makes them an ideal marine species for shoreline surveys. The most distinguishing characteristic used to identify green crabs is the pattern of five spines or &#8216;teeth&#8217; on each side of the eyes and three spines between the eyes (see Appendix 1). Their carapace (dorsal side) is typically a mottled dark green and brown, but ventral color patterns can vary greatly (see Appendix 2).
There are many organizations, researchers, citizen scientist groups, and educators currently conducting green crab population monitoring. However, the lack of a standardized protocol makes it difficult to compare datasets and to ultimately understand green crab populations on both a local and regional scale. This protocol is designed to quantify spatiotemporal population dynamics of green crabs in the rocky intertidal zone in New England and Atlantic Canada. Ideally, the development of a standardized, inexpensive, and easily adaptable survey will promote long-term monitoring efforts by a wide range of users, including researchers, citizen scientists, educators, and students.
Although green crabs are the target species of interest in this protocol, data is also collected for native Jonah and rock crabs (Cancer borealis and Cancer irroratus), as well as the invasive Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus). These are crab species commonly found in the rocky intertidal zone in northern New England, and trends in their population distribution and abundance have ecological and economic significance. An Intertidal Crab Field Guide was developed alongside this protocol to aid in crab identification (Appendix 1) specific to northern New England. A data entry and storage platform called &#8220;Intertidal Green Crab Project&#8221; was also developed for this protocol using Anecdata19. Anecdata is a free online citizen science platform that provides web-based and mobile solutions for gathering and accessing observations, and provides a user-friendly platform to easily collect, manage, and share data.

<table>
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>1 m2 PVC quadrat (1/2&#34; PVC)</td>
			<td>Any hardware/home improvement store</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>PVC can be sourced at any hardware/home improvement store and cut into 1m lengths to form quadrat (4 1/2&#34; PVC elbows will also be needed to connect 1 m lengths into square)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>1/2&#34; rebar</td>
			<td>Home depot</td>
			<td>5152</td>
			<td>*optional (for marking low intertidal area)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>40 m Fiberglass Transect Tape</td>
			<td>Grainger</td>
			<td>3LJX1</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>5 gal bucket</td>
			<td>Home depot</td>
			<td>05GLHD2</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ade Advanced Optics Salinity Refractometer</td>
			<td>Amazon</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>*optional</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Clip board</td>
			<td>Any office supply store or Amazon</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Uei Waterproof Digital Thermometer</td>
			<td>Amazon</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>*optional</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Vernier calipers</td>
			<td>Bel-Art</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Many companies make calipers, however our preferred brand is Bel-Art which can be sourced on Amazon</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

assessing intertidal populations of the invasive european green crab

Invasive species have caused major disruptions to ecosystems worldwide. The European green crab invaded North America in the 1800s and is considered one of the world&#8217;s 100 worst invaders by the IUCN. Observations of spatiotemporal green crab population dynamics are essential for predicting and managing the ecological and economic impacts of this harmful invasive species. This protocol was developed in an effort to create a standardized method for assessing green crab population dynamics in the rocky intertidal zone of New England and Atlantic Canada. The protocol was designed to be accessible to multiple users including researchers, educators, students, and citizen scientists. Although it was designed for surveying crab populations, this protocol is easy to adapt and could be used for any number of intertidal species. The resulting data collected using this protocol has a wide range of uses, including to inform ecological research, conservation efforts, mitigation strategies, and fishery development, as well as for educational outreach purposes.

In 2019, this protocol was used to conduct monthly intertidal green crab surveys at three locations from May-November (Sandy Point, Yarmouth, ME (43&#176;46&#39;17.92&#34;N, 70&#176; 8&#39;45.52&#34;W), Robinhood Cove, Georgetown, ME (43&#176;48&#39;13.80&#34;N, 69&#176;44&#39;50.97&#34;W), and New Meadows River, West Bath, ME (43&#176;51&#39;17.84&#34;N, 69&#176;51&#39;55.20&#34;W)), and at one location from May-August (Damariscotta River, Walpole, ME (43&#176;56&#39;9.42&#34;N, 69&#176;34&#39;52.75&#34;)). The data col...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Assessing Intertidal Populations of the Invasive European Green Crab at JoVE.com

Assessing Intertidal Populations of the Invasive European Green Crab

Understanding spatiotemporal patterns in green crab population dynamics is essential for predicting and managing the ecological and economic impacts of this harmful invasive species. This protocol was developed in an effort to create a standardized method for assessing green crab populations in the rocky intertidal zone of the Northwest Atlantic.

Invasive species have caused major disruptions to ecosystems worldwide. The European green crab invaded North America in the 1800s and is considered one ...

Green crabs are an incredibly harmful invasive species. Understanding spatial temporal patterns in their population dynamics is essential for predicting and managing the ecological and economic impacts of this species. This is a standardized method for assessing crab populations that doesn't require specialized or expensive equipment is accessible to a wide range of users and is easily adapted to suit the needs of the investigator.This research can inform shellfish and coastal habitat conservation and restoration as well as green crab fishery development research. Handling and identifying live crabs can be challenging. So familiarizing yourself with the characteristics of interest and practicing handling live crabs prior to the surveys can be useful.Understanding the specific area of shoreline and crab characteristics targeted in this protocol is critical to ensuring standardization, which is something that is easier to absorb visually. Helping to demonstrate the procedure, will be Jessie Batchelder a field technician from my laboratory. At the predicted low tide time, run a 50 meter transect tape vertically from the low intertidal zone to the high intertidal zone.Divide the resulting distance into a high, middle and low section. The low intertidal section, parallel to the shoreline is the target sampling area. Within the low intertidal zone, measure a distance of 100 meters parallel to the shoreline and establish permanent markers delineating this zone, using a rebar or natural permanent landmarks, such as immovable boulders, ledge or dock pilings.Upon arriving at the survey site, locate the 100 meter section of low intertidal shoreline where the survey will be conducted. Unpack gear and organize data sheets and field guides. Optionally, measure the water temperature, using a waterproof digital thermometer in the shallow water adjacent to the sampling area.Measure salinity by placing several drops of water, collected adjacent to the sampling area onto the refraction prism of a salinity refractometer. Record water temperature in degrees celsius and salinity in parts per thousand on the intertidal survey data sheet or directly in the intertidal green crab project on the Anecdata app. Begin the survey by haphazardly tossing the one square meter quadrat within the predefined low intertidal zone area.Record a visual estimate of the percent of both movable rock and algae canopy cover within the quadrat to the nearest quarter percent. Within each quadrat, lift movable rocks or cobble and carefully move aside algae to look for crabs, making sure to replace all rocks and algae as they are found. Collect all of the crabs found and store them in a bucket until the entire quadrat has been searched.Identify the species of each crab using the intertidal crab field guide, and record it using the species codes listed on the intertidal survey data sheet or on the intertidal green crab project on the Anecdata app. Use vernier calipers to measure the caliper's width of each crab across the widest part of the calipers, spinning from tip to tip of the terminal spines to the nearest one millimeter. For crabs with the calipers width of greater than 10 millimeters, examine the abdomen of the ventral side of the crab to determine sex.Male crabs tend to have a narrow-pointed abdomen and female crabs tend to have a wider beehive-shaped abdomen. For all crabs, record the number of claws, number of legs, shell condition as determined by whether the calipers resists or gives when finger pressure is applied and the presence or absence of extruded eggs for females. Optionally, record the color for green crabs, identify pre-molt shell condition for green crabs, using external pre-molt indicators.Pre-molt green crabs are within three weeks of molting and are of particular interest to the emerging soft shell green crab fishery. Return all crabs to the habitat within the quadrat, once all measurements and characteristics have been recorded. Continue haphazardly tossing the quadrat within the predefined low intertidal area until a total of 10 meters squared has been sampled.Move forward along the low intertidal area, ensuring the quadrats are separated by a minimum of one meter so that resampling does not occur and a maximum of 10 meters so that the survey area does not exceed 100 meters. In 2019, this protocol was used to conduct monthly intertidal green crab surveys at three locations from May to November and at one location from May to August. The data collected indicated wide variations in spatial and temporal green crab population density and sex ratio.Significant differences were also noted in cumulative science frequency among the sites. Shell condition changed seasonally within each site with peak pre-molt and soft shell phases for males in the spring and for females in the early summer and fall. The protocol was also used in 2018 and 2019 by Georgetown Central School, third and fourth grade students who surveyed the same site in Georgetown, Maine each year in October.They observed a shift in the population from being dominated by five to 15 millimeter calipers width sized crabs in 2018 to 15 to 30 millimeter calipers, width sized crabs in 2019. They also observed an increase in the percent occurrence of the invasive Asian shore crab from 3.5%in 2018 to 9%in 2019. When attempting this protocol, keep in mind that targeting a standardized area along the shoreline is critical to collecting data that can be compared across spatial and temporal scales.This protocol can be conducted in conjunction with or inform many other types of shoreline monitoring, such as saltmarsh, shellfish or shallow subtidal species monitoring. This technique has allowed many user groups ranging from researchers to educators, to citizen scientists to understand spatial temporal patterns of shoreline populations of native and invasive crabs.

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