Giant crabs make Antarctic leap

[Gerald]

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/7518/55194278nyaldwynipalmer.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/30/55194278nyaldwynipalmer.jpg/)
The crabs are large and dominant organisms, able to crush other animals

King crabs have been found on the edge of Antarctica, probably as a result of warming in the region, scientists say.

Writing in the journal Proceedings B, scientists report a large, reproductive population of crabs in the Palmer Deep, a basin cut in the continental shelf.

They suggest the crabs were washed in during an upsurge of warmer water.

The crabs are voracious crushers of sea floor animals and will probably change the ecosystem profoundly if and when they spread further, researchers warn.

Related species have been found around islands off the Antarctic Peninsula and on the outer edge of the continental shelf.

But here the crabs (Neolithodes yaldwyni) are living and reproducing in abundance right on the edge of the continent itself.

Search for life

The researchers sent the Genesis, a submersible remotely operated vehicle (ROV) from the University of Ghent in Belgium, into the Palmer Deep in March last year.

The idea was to look at what life was down there, rather than specifically to look for crabs; and the team was somewhat surprised by how many they found.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14803840


Note: 6 September 2011 Last updated at 23:26 GMT

[nikimcbee]

more crab cakes for me:yeah:.

[Jimbuna]

more crab cakes for me:yeah:.

I was going to ask if you'd been swimming in the area recently? :DL

[Madox58]

I don't know about the facts according to the thread title?
But teeny tiny crabs have made me leap a few time in days gone by!!
:haha:

[Gerald]

But hardly as large as this, only takes a couple like that as a starter,dessert may consist of something completely different...:D

[Anthony W.]

Didn't the department of Wildlife ban derby crab fishing to save the ecosystem?

I say they reopen it and give me reason to watch Deadliest Catch again...

[Jimbuna]

I don't know about the facts according to the thread title?
But teeny tiny crabs have made me leap a few time in days gone by!!
:haha:

LOL :DL

[Skybird]

How big must a pizza be in order... hm, forget it...

[Jimbuna]

Didn't the department of Wildlife ban derby crab fishing to save the ecosystem?

I say they reopen it and give me reason to watch Deadliest Catch again...

A very good series :up:

[Gerald]

How big must a pizza be in order... hm, forget it... We will not forget such things lightly, :D

[geetrue]

We don't have to worry do we?

They just eat dead things, right?

[Castout]

They have become a pestilence. They create sea floor desolation whenever they spread unchecked.

Fish them, never mind fishing quota to control their prices.

Fish stock is depleting at alarming rate. More crabs would be good for the environment and for our taste buds for a change.

Spicy sauce crabs, spicy sour sauce crabs, curry sauce crabs, steamed crabs....Ummmm, crabs for lunch, crabs for dinner.

[Jimbuna]

They have become a pestilence. They create sea floor desolation whenever they spread unchecked.

Fish them, never mind fishing quota to control their prices.

Fish stock is depleting at alarming rate. More crabs would be good for the environment and for our taste buds for a change.

Spicy sauce crabs, spicy sour sauce crabs, curry sauce crabs, steamed crabs....Ummmm, crabs for lunch, crabs for dinner.

Some crabs are more destructive and irritable than others :03:

[Anthony W.]

Their problem is my dinner.

Simple solution.

Woohoo!!!

But - to be honest - I have a friend who is a fisherman up in the Bering Sea, in fact, he was actually on the Deadliest Catch pilot episode. Ever since the derby season ended, he just hasn't been doing too well. They had to stop crab fishing and now all they fish is cod. It doesn't help that they were robbed last year and all their collector rifles were stolen, as well as expensive computer equipment and the damages caused.

Re opening the derby - it'll feed my insatiable urge for steamed crab legs, and help out my good friend, and all the other fishermen that were screwed over by the DNR/DFG.

[Gargamel]

Had some last night for dinner..... yummy.....

[Gerald]

Good stuff, :DL

[Jimbuna]

Had some last night for dinner..... yummy.....

Only ever liked the white meat as opposed to the stronger tasting brown/body meat.

A good dressed crab costs a tidy sum here in the UK...that is when you can find one.

[Gargamel]

Mainly had legs. But my favorite meat is the "hip", the part at the top of the legs that connects to the body, much sweeter. Soft shell is fun too, whack it with a hammer and pull out the meat.

[Jimbuna]

Mainly had legs. But my favorite meat is the "hip", the part at the top of the legs that connects to the body, much sweeter. Soft shell is fun too, whack it with a hammer and pull out the meat.

I'll stick with the nippers and the legs thanks :DL

[Rockstar]

Sure, throw out human waste and refuse for them to feed on. Then go out and catch the vile little bottom feeders so you can eat them.

http://www.gifbin.com/bin/082009/1250675188_family_guy_barfing.gif

[Castout]

Some crabs are more destructive and irritable than others :03:

Eeuw pls don't ruin our appetite.