Dvoretsky Alexander G, Dvoretsky Vladimir G
Murmansk Marine Biological Institute (MMBI), 183010 Murmansk, Russia.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Mar 23;11(3):917. doi: 10.3390/ani11030917.
During diving surveys for a Russian research project that monitored introduced species, red king crabs () were collected at a coastal site of the Barents Sea to study the structure and dynamics of this species. Sampling of the organisms colonizing the crabs was part of this research project. For the first time, the presence of relatively large specimens of the common starfish as epibionts of was observed in July 2010, 2018, and 2019. In 2010 and 2019, we also found three other echinoderm species (the Atlantic sea cucumber , the green sea urchin and the brittle star ). These findings add to the current list of associated species on king crabs not only in the Barents Sea but also in native areas of this host. Red king crabs have been documented as predators for these echinoderm species, and our records show additional possible interactions between king crabs and echinoderms in this region. More likely, the epibiotic lifestyle allows these echinoderms to avoid predation from red king crabs. There are no potential disadvantages derived by red king crabs through their relationships with the echinoderm epibionts due to low occurrences of these associations. We suggest no negative effects for the local red king crab population and populations of other commercial species in the Barents Sea.
在一个监测外来物种的俄罗斯研究项目的潜水调查过程中，在巴伦支海的一个沿海地点采集了红帝王蟹（），以研究该物种的结构和动态。对附着在螃蟹上的生物进行采样是该研究项目的一部分。2010年、2018年和2019年7月，首次观察到相对较大的常见海星标本作为红帝王蟹的附着生物。2010年和2019年，我们还发现了其他三种棘皮动物物种（大西洋海参、绿海胆和脆蛇尾）。这些发现不仅增加了巴伦支海，也增加了这种宿主原生区域内帝王蟹相关物种的现有清单。红帝王蟹已被记录为这些棘皮动物物种的捕食者，我们的记录显示了该地区帝王蟹与棘皮动物之间更多可能的相互作用。更有可能的是，附着生物的生活方式使这些棘皮动物能够避免被红帝王蟹捕食。由于这些关联的发生率较低，红帝王蟹与棘皮动物附着生物的关系不会给它们带来潜在的不利影响。我们认为这对巴伦支海当地的红帝王蟹种群以及其他商业物种的种群没有负面影响。
