Tag Archives: sand crabs

Battle for the Beach-Crustacean Nation

by Miles, Sophia, and Charlie
Bishop O’Dowd High School

A sharp, cold wind rips across the beach, chilling the shivering O’Dowd students to the core. But there is no room for weakness. The research must be conducted at any cost. As the oceans continue to be examined, the relationship between sand crabs and sanderlings remains unclear. The two species are locked in the age-old, evolutionary battle of predator and prey, but the other aspects of their interactions are unknown. Exploring the correlation between the abundance of sand crabs and the abundance of shorebirds on Ocean Beach is a key component of understanding the beach as a whole. This research is vastly important, as sand crabs act as prey for many species on the sandy beaches, and serve as an indicator species, or a species that serves as a gauge for a habitat’s health.
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Itch for Crabs? (Not those crabs!)

Mole crabby Brian, Somari, and Charles
Bishop O’Dowd High School

Have you ever looked down while at the beach, and seen tiny creatures rolling around, and live in the sand? These tiny creatures are called sand crabs and they are quite paramount to their ecosystem. You may be wondering why sand crabs are so important and it is because they are prey for many animals such as shorebirds and fish. As a species, they can determine whether or not the ecosystem will be healthy. sand crabs make up 80-90% of the intertidal invertebrate biomass. Males and females vary in sizes but the females tend to be larger.
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