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Community impacts of two invasive crabs: the interactive roles of density, prey recruitment, and indirect effects

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Abstract

Assessing the implications of species invasion for native communities requires determining whether effects of invaders are novel, or are redundant with effects of species that are already present. Using a pair of field experiments conducted over two successive years, we examined factors that influence community impacts of a recent predatory crab invader (Hemigrapsus sanguineus) and a previously established invasive crab (Carcinus maenas) on New England coasts. We demonstrate that effects of these species differ temporally with changes in the ambient prey community, and are influenced by density differences between the two species and by different strengths and types of indirect effects that each elicits. Our study highlights the importance of including bottom-up processes (i.e., prey recruitment) when examining the redundancy of consumers.

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Acknowledgments

We thank D. Niemaszyk, G. Goldsmith, and A. Malek for help with field experiments. We also thank I. Altman, A. Blakeslee, A. Freeman, J. H. Grabowski, W. J. Lee, L. Page, M. J. Shulman, and anonymous reviewers for comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Blaine D. Griffen

    Present address: Odum School of Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

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  1. Zoology Department, University of New Hampshire, 46 College Rd., Durham, NH, USA

    Blaine D. Griffen & James E. Byers

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  1. Blaine D. Griffen
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  2. James E. Byers
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Correspondence to Blaine D. Griffen.

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Griffen, B.D., Byers, J.E. Community impacts of two invasive crabs: the interactive roles of density, prey recruitment, and indirect effects. Biol Invasions 11, 927–940 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-008-9305-3

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