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Chesapeake Bay Parasite Project: Citizen Science and the Mud Crab

  • 12 Oct 2023
  • 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
  • Online via Zoom

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Several species of mud crabs call the Chesapeake home, including the white-fingered mud crab (Rhithropanopeus harrisii) and the flatback mud crab (Eurypanopeus depressus). These small crabs, which live in oyster reefs and woody debris in the water, are integral to the health and well-being of the ecology of the Bay. In the 1960s, a non-native, invasive parasitic barnacle was accidentally introduced from oysters in the Gulf of Mexico, where the parasite is native. Loxothylacus panopaei (Loxo, for short) takes control of the crab and changes major functions like molting and reproduction.

Monaca Noble, an ecologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, runs the Chesapeake Bay Parasite Project, AKA Mud Crab Project, a citizen science effort designed to evaluate the long-term interactions between the host and parasite in Chesapeake Bay. Each year around 100 people participate in the sampling effort to determine if mud crab populations are steadily declining. Monaca joins NHSM on Must Learn Thursday to discuss mud crabs and the parasite program.
Monaca Noble is an ecologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. She has a Master of Science in Environmental Sciences and Resources from Portland State University and over 20 years of experience.