Copyright thebetterindia
How Ghost Crabs Are Keeping Chennai’s Elliot’s Beach Spotless There’s a colourful world spread across Chennai’s Elliot Beach. And it’s living and breathing. A walk along the beach will introduce you to adult horn-eyed ghost crabs (Ocypode brevicornis) native to the Indian Ocean. They scuttle about the shore, each building a single burrow and living alone in its carefully crafted shelter. Here, they shelter from the day’s heat, emerging to forage once the sun is less harsh. The red ghost crab inhabits intertidal sandy shores and mudflats, using its elongated cylindrical eyestalks for periscopic 360-degree vision. The fisherfolk in the area prepare a stew made of the crabs, an important food for breastfeeding mothers. Aside from this, the ghost crabs are said to be excellent weather forecasters, according to the fishermen. When a crab flings sand far from its burrow while digging, it signals calm weather, but when it scatters sand close by or stays inside all day, it foretells strong winds, rain, or tidal surges. Ghost crabs regularly scavenge on carcasses left on the beach. A 2014 study in the Journal of Oceanography and Marine Biology spotlighted the role of ghost crabs in facilitating the major transfer of energy from marine ecosystems into sandy and dune habitat food webs. This highlights them as a keystone species. They are important custodians and public health guardians of sandy shores. If not for them, beaches would be far less hospitable and hygienic for countless life forms, including humans. This story is part of a content series by The Better India and Roundglass Sustain. Read the complete story here.
