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Rare Predation Event: Horn-Eyed Ghost Crab Hunts Lightfoot Crab
Researchers from GITAM School of Science, Visakhapatnam, documented the first confirmed instance of a Horn-eyed ghost crab (Ocypode genus) preying on a Mottled lightfoot crab along the Rushikonda shoreline of India's East Coast.
This event is ecologically significant as the predator typically inhabits sandy stretches, while the prey is confined to rocky crevices, suggesting a temporary merging of habitats, likely due to nocturnal foraging.
Ghost crabs are considered keystone species in intertidal food webs, and this observation highlights the adaptability of generalist predators to shift their diet based on prey availability and changing terrains. The finding, published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, raises questions about ecosystem responses to environmental disturbances like pollution and altered sediment patterns along the coastline.
This event is ecologically significant as the predator typically inhabits sandy stretches, while the prey is confined to rocky crevices, suggesting a temporary merging of habitats, likely due to nocturnal foraging.
Ghost crabs are considered keystone species in intertidal food webs, and this observation highlights the adaptability of generalist predators to shift their diet based on prey availability and changing terrains. The finding, published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, raises questions about ecosystem responses to environmental disturbances like pollution and altered sediment patterns along the coastline.