The Wolcotts say that humans need to understand estuaries in order to make wise decisions about coastal development, pollution control, seafood industry support, estuary protection and more. These are some of the interesting questions. They are using the transmitters this summer as they resume their work at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center on the Chesapeake Bay, collaborating with Dr. Tuck Hines. This setup tells where each crab is and what it's doing, allowing the researchers to measure the effects that crabs have on clams and vice versa. Unlike the familiar blue crabs, a few kinds of crab, such as the Atlantic ghost crabs that frequent the beaches of North Carolina, have left the sea behind and invaded land.
Land crabs are a dietary staple on many tropical coasts and islands, but they are also pests.
They eat young sugarcane, and their burrows undermine sea walls and make for 18,000-hole golf courses. The Wolcotts' explorations of how these basically marine animals can live away from the sea have altered widely held views of what challenges crabs face and what options they have. Unlike some of their relatives, land crabs specialize in lightness and speed, rather than armor, for protection. Nevertheless, by retreating only a few inches down into their burrows, they can be safe from a fisherman's truck rolling over their doorway. They carefully avoid standing water that could hatch eggs prematurely.