King Crabs Threaten Seafloor Life Near Antarctica

King Crabs were thought to have left Antarctia. With the absence of these predators, many species have not grown in defense to King Crabs. In recent studies made by researchers at University of Hawaii, Duke University,Ghent University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and Hamilton College, there has been a discovery that one species of King Crabs have migrated 120 kilometers across the continental shelf, and have developed a large reproductive population along the Palmer Deep along the west Antarctic Peninsula."This is a very interesting discovery for several reasons," said Craig Smith, Professor of Oceanography at the University of Hawaii -- Manoa. "First, it provides evidence that king crabs can now disperse across the Antarctic shelf, and reproduce in at least some Antarctic shelf waters. It also suggests that these predatory king crabs will cause a major reduction on seafloor biodiversity as they invade Antarctic habitats because they appear to be eating all the echinoderms in the Palmer Deep." This shift in population will change the Arctic ecosystem drastically.