Hello my harbor friends!
I am back here again to share with everyone another blog. So for this week on monday both all access groups meet up at carson beach to survey the land for different kinds of shells and other species of animals. While we were there we found all different types of shells such as Northern Quahogs, west atlantic surf clams, blue mussel, Atlantic jackknife clam, and many more. Also during that day we had a crab trap in the water and when we pulled it up we were only able to find two types of crabs which are most commonly caught: the green crabs and a singular spider crab. crab.
During this week I got to take the time to learn about two species that I encountered during this week. The first one is the European green crab which we most commonly found due to the fact they are a highly destructive invasive species. The first time they came to New England was about 200 years ago when European ships brought them in the ballast of the boat. They have been able to survive here for so long because their diet works well with our ecosystem and the lack of predators. They are so destructive because they feast on native habitats by eating calm, mussel, oyster, and outdo local crabs for food.
The second species I got to learn about is the spider crab. The spider crab is easily recognizable form other crabs to the fact it is covered in mud and sea moss, its incredible size that can almost go over nine inches long from its two main claws which are bigger than the normal legs, and the fact that the tips of their claws are a whitish-yellow and a really distinctive color from the rest of the body. The legs and claws of a male spider crab is about twice the size of a female. You can also tell the difference from spider crabs and other crabs due to the fact their claws are more life pincers that are slow and not as strong as other crabs. From my interactions with them I can say they are somewhat non-threatening unless you put your finger in its claw. Due to the fact they are slow moving and can't swim they are more like scavengers with their diet. The most diet from them consist of dead or decaying fish, invertebrates, and algae.
On Friday we got to finish our week at an event at Carson beach. We got to set up a crab touch tank for all the kids to come and hold both types of crabs and learn about them. It was a pretty big event with multiple groups of younger kids who mostly have never got to hold a crab and it was pretty cool to see their reaction every time we took one out of the touch tank. I think it was a perfect way to end my week.
See everyone on the harbor
Giacomo Cincotti
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