Behavior of decorating crabs topic of DMC talk
Molly Jacobs, a visiting researcher from McDaniel College in Maryland, will present a brown bag seminar, “Age-appropriate outfits? Decorating behavior in juvenile and adult decorator crabs,” at noon Thursday, Sept. 15 at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center.
Decorator crabs hide from predators by covering themselves with materials from their environment. In young crabs, this behavior development hasn’t been studied as much as habitat selection and physical development. The coordination of all three is important for their survival, though, and understanding the behavior helps to illuminate how young crabs interact with other species on the ocean floor, including invasive crabs.
The talk will be in Brooke Hall on the lower waterfront DMC campus, 193 Clarks Cove Road, Walpole. Attendees are invited to bring their lunch. Directions and more information is online.