Senior author AIMS Researcher Dr. Sven Uthicke said the research team found small, hidden decapod crabs were a significant, previously unrecognized COTS predator, in addition to reef fish and ...

Building on previous research which looked at what crab species would eat juvenile crown-of-thorns starfish in aquariums, scientists went out on the reef and surveyed the crabs and CoTS present.

Crab behavior suggestive of wound-tending may improve coral tolerance to heat waves. For certain vulnerable corals, help is in the claws of a crab. Reporting in Proceedings Biological Sciences ...