DV-06-004 Monitoring the Abundance and Distribution of the Invasive Asian Shore Crab, Hemigraspus sanguineus, on the Schoodic Peninsula and its Effects on Intertidal Crab and Bivalve Populations

Aimee Phillippi
Unity College
90 Quaker Hill Rd.
Unity, ME 04988
207-948-4313, x 282
aphillippi@unity.edu

Invasive species can have serious impacts on ecosystems in which they are introduced and on human commercial interests. The Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus , is an invasive species first documented in Maine in 2000. There has been only one reported occurrence of H. sanguineus along the Schoodic peninsula in eastern Maine, the current northern boundary for the species. Researchers will quantify the Asian shore crab population as well as those of other intertidal crab species in this area, with the intent to continue the monitoring in future years to record the competitive effects of a H. sanguineus invasion on the Schoodic Peninsula. Bivalve populations in the same area will be quantified so that, if H. sanguineus invades in future years, baseline data will be available to use to determine the predation effects of the Asian shore crab on important commercial species.

1-year project: $4200