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Maryland scientists concerned about crabby world traveler
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This Maryland Department of Natural Resources photo shows a Chinese Mitten Crab found in the Chesapeake Bay.
BALTIMORE (Map, News) - State biologists are concerned a crabby invader may put the pinch on local waterways and ecosystems.
Earlier this week, scientists at the Smithsonian Institution’s Environment Research Center confirmed a crab found last year in the Patapsco River was a Chinese mitten crab, a species of crab native to the areas around the Yellow Sea between China and Korea.
“One of the reasons we should be concerned is that we have no idea what kind of impact this critter will have on the ecosystem,” said Lynn Fegley, a biologist from the state’s Department of Natural Resources.
According to information released by the Washington state Sea Grant Program, which studies the watery pest, the crab has recently caused ecological problems in the San Francisco Bay, where it burrows and causes bank instability, as well as problems for commercial fishermen.
The crab submitted to Smith-sonian scientists was the second caught in the Patapsco River in the last several years, Fegley said, and scientists are trying to determine if they are the result of breeding or were “isolated, drop-off events.”
Because the crabs are adept land travelers and can live in both fresh and salt water, Fegley said they have the potential to disrupt several different ecosystems.
The news of the crab raised concerns similar the recent discovery of the highly predatory snakehead fish species found in the Chesapeake region, which biologists said jeopardized the ecosystem.
However, Fegley said evidence suggests the mitten crab does not appear to be an elite predator like the snakehead fish.
“People get really concerned because the snakehead fish feeds on the species we know,” she said. “It’s like, ‘Oh my God, they’re feeding on large mouth bass.’ The crab is not an immediate top predator.”
While the potential impact of such a crab is unknown, Fegley said it’s not necessarily bad news.
“There are a lot of species, like the brown trout, that are not native to this area, and they’re just fine,” she said. “Some species just come in and mesh themselves in and people even start to like them.”
shedenberg@baltimoreexaminer.com
