Threats


The extent to which the red king crab poses a threat to the Barents Sea ecosystem and its commercial fisheries’ is debated amongst fishermen and scientists16,19


and the low


research priority assigned to the species during its early years of invasion has not facilitated the task of clarifying this issue10


.


Current research reflects concerns on impacts of crabs on benthic communities and commercially important fish.


I


In high abundance, the red king crab appears to affect benthic communities in its native habitat20


, and in its invasive range,


. However, there is no conclusive evidence that the red king crab has affected total biomass or species richness of benthic communities21


benthic organisms appear to be the most important food prey item1,20


. The commercial scallop, Chlamys


islandica, a slow-growing epibenthic species, is believed to be particularly exposed to red king crab predation2


. Few


studies exist on the indirect impact of red king crabs as food competitors of fish. Concern also exists that king crab facilitates the spread of blood parasites in fish22


. Given the II


current state of knowledge on the impacts of red king crab on native benthic communities and fishes, it is difficult to draw any precise conclusions on the threat caused to the Barents


78 PROTECTING ARCTIC BIODIVERSITY


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