Why do mitten crabs burrow?
Why do mitten crabs burrow?
In tidal areas, mitten crabs burrow into banks for protection from predators and desiccation during low tides. This burrowing activity may increase erosion and instability of levees and riverbanks.
Are Chinese mitten crabs invasive?
The mitten crab, a Chinese delicacy also known as Shanghai hairy crab, is one of the world’s top hundred most invasive species that threaten native wildlife and habitats, making it a major target for officials fighting wildlife crime.
Who’s eating the Chinese mitten crab?
One the positive side, Chinese mitten crabs are a potential food source for predatory fishes (e.g., pike, eel, brown trout, white sturgeon, striped bass, largemouth bass, large sunfish), bullfrogs, loons, egrets and other wading birds, river otters, and raccoons.
Why do Chinese mitten crabs have hair?
The most identifiable feature is the dense patch of setae (or “fur”) on its white-tipped claws. The purpose of these “furry” mittens is still unknown. The adult is sexually dimorphic (the male looks different from the female); the male crabs have more setae on their claws than the females.
Where are mitten crabs native?
Chinese mitten crabs are native to China’s and South Korea’s coastal rivers and estuaries that drain to the Yellow Sea. In Europe and California, Chinese mitten crabs are believed to have been introduced via ship ballast water and, possibly, intentionally released to establish fisheries.
How can mitten crabs be a problem in our Delta?
Mitten crabs by the thousands clogged a cooling system in a delta power plant last year. There could be more such problems as the crab population explodes. The crabs feed on plant and animal life and could reduce stocks of clams, worms and other water life needed for ecological balance.
How do you keep Chinese mitten crabs from spreading?
Public outreach and education remains the best most cost effective method of preventing the introduction and spread of Chinese mitten crab. Mitten Crab burrows. Photo credit: California Department of Fish and Game.
Where does the Chinese mitten crab come from?
Chinese mitten crab ( Eriocheir sinensis ), also known as big binding crab and Shanghai hairy crab, is a medium-sized burrowing crab native to rivers and coastal estuaries of China and Korea. Mitten crab live primarily in fresh water, but migrate to the sea to breed.
What kind of damage does Chinese mitten crab do?
Chinese mitten crabs have also invaded German waters, where they destroy fishing nets, hurt native fish species and damage local dams, causing damage of up to 80 million Euros.
What kind of estuaries do mitten crabs live in?
The types of estuaries suitable for the mitten crab is large brackish waters for the larva to develop in, and large shallow waters for the growth of the juvenile crabs. The Chinese mitten crab originates from Hong Kong to the border of Korea.
How does the mitten crab affect the ecosystem?
The mitten crab may have a profound effect on biological communities through predation and competition, and could change the structure of fresh and brackish water benthic invertebrate communities in areas they invade. Also of concern is potential predation on salmonid and sturgeon eggs and juveniles.
