Investigating the impact of introduced crabs on the distribution and morphology of littorinid snails: Implications for the survival of the snail Littorina saxatilis

Abstract

Introduced species can have profound impacts on communities by displacing and consuming native organisms. The intertidal communities in the Gulf of Maine have been radically altered through a suite of invasions in the early 1800s, including the herbivorous snail Littorina littorea and the omnivorous European green crab Carcinus maenas leading to morphological and distributional changes in two native gastropod grazers (Littorina saxatilis and Littorina obtusata). Green crabs and native cancrid crabs occupy the mid to low intertidal zones, leaving the high intertidal zones relatively free from crab predation pressure. However, a more recent invasion in the 1980s by the intertidal omnivorous Asian shore crab Hemigrapsus sanguineus, has eliminated this predator-free zone in the high intertidal. This invasion is of particular concern to populations of L. saxatilis, which were relegated to the high intertidal through combined competition and predation pressure by L. littorea and C. maenas. In order to quantify the potential impact of H. sanguineus on native snails, we conducted both field and lab experiments, testing the susceptibility of different sized snails to predation by introduced crabs. Additionally, we measured the distribution, abundance, and morphology of intertidal snails and crabs. Smaller snails of all species were the most susceptible to predation, although susceptibility differed among snail species and predation capabilities differed among crab species. L. saxatilis was the most vulnerable snail species to predation, with 73 and 64% of the population susceptible to large H. sanguineus and small C. maenas, respectively, while >96% of the L. littorea population was resistant to predation. L. saxatilis has been relegated to the high intertidal where there is high abiotic stress and poor-quality food, but until the invasion of H. sanguineus, there was little predation risk. This added predation pressure may further threaten populations of L. saxatilis, especially as the upper intertidal becomes more hostile with increasing temperatures and possible species introductions.