Invasive Crab Ecology and Management

The introduction of non-native crabs, notably the European green crab Carcinus maenas, has precipitated widespread ecological disruption in coastal and estuarine environments worldwide. These species exhibit high phenotypic plasticity, broad thermal and salinity tolerance, and opportunistic diets, enabling them to establish dense populations that predate on bivalves, compete with native crustaceans and alter habitat structure. Invasive crabs can diminish shellfish stocks, impair commercial fisheries and undermine restoration efforts aimed at oyster reefs and seagrass meadows. Management approaches range from targeted trapping programmes and gear modification to habitat manipulation and, in some regions, biological control trials. Effective mitigation hinges on understanding life-history traits such as growth rates, reproductive seasonality and dispersal pathways, as well as the behavioural and physiological adaptations that facilitate invasion success. Recent studies have refined methods to quantify population density and larval recruitment, improved trap efficiency to maximise removal and elucidated the role of ecosystem engineers in mediating predator-prey interactions. Cross-disciplinary strategies combining ecological monitoring, adaptive fisheries management and stakeholder engagement are essential to mitigate the global impact of invasive crabs and safeguard coastal ecosystems.

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Invasive Crab Ecology and Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in invasive crab ecology and management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Invasive species: A non-native organism that establishes, spreads and causes ecological or economic harm in a new environment.
Carapace width: The maximum distance across the dorsal shell of a crab, commonly used as a measure of size and maturity.
Fecundity: The potential reproductive capacity of an individual, typically quantified as the number of eggs produced.
Catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE): A standardised index of removal efficiency, calculated as the number of individuals captured per unit of trapping effort.
Ovigerous: Describing a female crab carrying eggs on her abdomen.
Phenotypic plasticity: The ability of an organism to alter its physiology, morphology or behaviour in response to environmental conditions.

References

1. Moving Northwards: Life-History Traits of the Invasive Green Crab (Carcinus maenas) Expanding into the Southwestern Atlantic. Biology (2025).
2. Variability in Carcinus maenas Fecundity Along Lagoons and Estuaries of the Portuguese Coast. Estuaries and Coasts (2022).
3. Improving the efficiency of the Fukui trap as a capture tool for the invasive European green crab (Carcinus maenas) in Newfoundland, Canada. PeerJ (2019).
4. The positive effect of coexisting ecosystem engineers: a unique seaweed-mussel association provides refuge for native mud crabs against a non-indigenous predator. PeerJ (2020).