Coral reefs have faced dramatic decline over the years due to climate change, pollution and disease, but Caribbean king crabs may be able to help save them.
A study published in Current Biology suggests that Caribbean crabs help reduce the algae that devour coral reefs to restore habitat for many fish. Researchers studied the behavior of algae-eating crabs on the Florida Keys and found that these crabs were better at removing reef-threatening algae than other species. When Caribbean king crabs were introduced to the reef experimental area, they could reduce algal cover by 50 percent.
Researchers believe that increasing the number of algae-eating crabs in their natural environment could help repair coral reefs by helping tackle the algae problem that is rapidly spreading due to climate change. At the same time, the researchers also considered that because these animals usually spend the rest of their lives in a coral reef system, if too much is introduced, the number of king crabs may exceed the limit, so they also need to figure out how much to control the density of king crabs Inside is more appropriate.
Source: web page