Predation of crabs on different species of jellyfish

Abstract

For decades, reports have shown that jellyfish have clogged seawater cooling systems and killed large populations of salmon. After numerous attempts to decrease the jellyfish populations, researchers have not yet been successful as jellyfish have the ability to avoid predation and withstand environmental changes. I looked at the possibility for Cancer productus crabs to prey on Mitrocoma cellularia, Aequorea victoria, and Eutonina indicans jellyfish. Two treatment groups of crabs were used to examine species preferences and time of the day that the crabs prefer feeding. The data shows that Cancer productus crabs prefer to consume Mitrocoma cellularia and Eutonina indicans jellyfish over Aequorea victoria and that they prefer to eat at night instead of during the day. More research is needed to determine why crabs preferred smaller, more flexible jellyfish over larger, tougher jellyfish, and understand if we can use these findings to reduce jellyfish blooms.