Effect of the red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus on the Murmansk coastal macrobenthos: the first estimates using sea urchins of the genus Strongylocentrotus as an example

Would Antarctic Marine Benthos Survive Alien Species Invasions? What Chemical Ecology May Tell Us

Many Antarctic marine benthic macroinvertebrates are chemically protected against predation by marine natural products of different types. Antarctic potential predators mostly include sea stars (macropredators) and amphipod crustaceans (micropredators) living in the same areas (sympatric). Recently, alien species (allopatric) have been reported to reach the Antarctic coasts, while deep-water crabs are suggested to be more often present in shallower waters. We decided to investigate the effect of the chemical defenses of 29 representative Antarctic marine benthic macroinvertebrates from seven different phyla against predation by using non-native allopatric generalist predators as a proxy for potential alien species. The Antarctic species tested included 14 Porifera, two Cnidaria, two Annelida, one Nemertea, two Bryozooa, three Echinodermata, and five Chordata (Tunicata). Most of these Antarctic marine benthic macroinvertebrates were chemically protected against an allopatric generalist amphipod but not against an allopatric generalist crab from temperate waters. Therefore, both a possible recolonization of large crabs from deep waters or an invasion of non-native generalist crab species could potentially alter the fundamental nature of these communities forever since chemical defenses would not be effective against them. This, together with the increasing temperatures that elevate the probability of alien species surviving, is a huge threat to Antarctic marine benthos.

Can multitrophic interactions and ocean warming influence large-scale kelp recovery?

Ongoing changes along the northeastern Atlantic coastline provide an opportunity to explore the influence of climate change and multitrophic interactions on the recovery of kelp. Here, vast areas of sea urchin-dominated barren grounds have shifted back to kelp forests, in parallel with changes in sea temperature and predator abundances. We have compiled data from studies covering more than 1,500-km coastline in northern Norway. The dataset has been used to identify regional patterns in kelp recovery and sea urchin recruitment, and to relate these to abiotic and biotic factors, including structurally complex substrates functioning as refuge for sea urchins. The study area covers a latitudinal gradient of temperature and different levels of predator pressure from the edible crab (Cancer pagurus) and the red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus). The population development of these two sea urchin predators and a possible predator on crabs, the coastal cod (Gadus morhua), were analyzed. In the southernmost and warmest region, kelp forests recovery and sea urchin recruitment are mainly low, although sea urchins might also be locally abundant. Further north, sea urchin barrens still dominate, and juvenile sea urchin densities are high. In the northernmost and cold region, kelp forests are recovering, despite high recruitment and densities of sea urchins. Here, sea urchins were found only in refuge habitats, whereas kelp recovery occurred mainly on open bedrock. The ocean warming, the increase in the abundance of edible crab in the south, and the increase in invasive red king crab in the north may explain the observed changes in kelp recovery and sea urchin distribution. The expansion of both crab species coincided with a population decline in the top-predator coastal cod. The role of key species (sea urchins, kelp, cod, and crabs) and processes involved in structuring the community are hypothesized in a conceptual model, and the knowledge behind the suggested links and interactions is explored.

Ration of the red king crab on coastal shoals of the Barents Sea

In different habitats of the Kola Bay (Western Murman) and Dalnezelenetskaya and Yarnyshnaya bays (Eastern Murman), the size and structure of ecological rations (foraging of benthos) of the red king crab, which is an alien species in the Barents Sea, was established. The material for the study was collected in 2000-2009. In the Kola Bay, significant variability in time of this nutrition was detected for individuals of the same size category, which was associated with the depletion of food resources due to the high abundance of invaders in the area. The stable values of the ration and its structures in Eastern Murman bays indicated the prosperous state of benthic communities and an insignificant impact of crabs on these communities.

Genetic diversity of the NE Atlantic sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis unveils chaotic genetic patchiness possibly linked to local selective pressure

We compared the genetic differentiation in the green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis from discrete populations on the NE Atlantic coast. By using eight recently developed microsatellite markers, genetic structure was compared between populations from the Danish Strait in the south to the Barents Sea in the north (56-79°N). Urchins are spread by pelagic larvae and may be transported long distances by northwards-going ocean currents. Two main superimposed patterns were identified. The first showed a subtle but significant genetic differentiation from the southernmost to the northernmost of the studied populations and could be explained by an isolation by distance model. The second pattern included two coastal populations in mid-Norway (65°N), NH and NS, as well as the northernmost population of continental Norway (71°N) FV. They showed a high degree of differentiation from all other populations. The explanation to the second pattern is most likely chaotic genetic patchiness caused by introgression from another species, S. pallidus, into S. droebachiensis resulting from selective pressure. Ongoing sea urchin collapse and kelp forests recovery are observed in the area of NH, NS and FV populations. High gene flow between populations spanning more than 22° in latitude suggests a high risk of new grazing events to occur rapidly in the future if conditions for sea urchins are favourable. On the other hand, the possibility of hybridization in association with collapsing populations may be used as an early warning indicator for monitoring purposes.

Crabs, leeches and trypanosomes: an unholy trinity?

The red king crab Paralithodes camtschaticus was deliberately introduced to the Barents Sea in the 1960s and 1970s from its native area in the North Pacific. The carapace of these crabs is a favoured substrate for the leech Johanssonia arctica to deposit its eggs, and the leech is a vector for a trypanosome blood parasite of marine fish, including cod. We examined cod for trypanosome infections during annual cruises along the coast of Finnmark in North Norway over three successive years from stations along a gradient of over 1000 km. In every year the level of trypanosome infection in cod was significantly highest in the area with the greatest density of king crabs. We propose the hypothesis that the burgeoning population of red king crabs in this area is indirectly responsible for increased transmission of trypanosomes to cod by promoting an increase in the population of the leech vector.