Most people are familiar with the iconic Chesapeake Bay blue crab. But there are many other types of crabs common to this area, and some of them live in strange conditions. Ghost crabs live in burrows on the beach; pea crabs live inside oysters and steal their food; mud crabs live in the mud, but if infected by a parasitic barnacle can become “zombies” that do nothing but produce more parasites. Dr. Bradley Stevens will introduce us to Maryland’s “other” crabs.
Dr. Bradley Stevens is a retired Professor of Marine and Environmental Science at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. He worked in Kodiak, Alaska, for over 20 years before coming to UMES, where he used scuba and underwater video to study fish, crabs, conchs, and corals. He tells his graduate students “Always study something you can eat”.