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US Scientists Identify Cause of Massive Crab Die-Off (cnn.com) 85

Long-time Slashdot reader mmell writes: Recent reports have indicated a near-complete collapse in the population of Snow Crabs in the Bering Sea. Scientists with the US Government's National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration have concluded that warming in the environment has led to vast numbers of snow crabs starving to death.

There has been a lot of back-and-forth, a lot of argument on whether or how much humanity has had an effect on the fundamental ecology of our planet... Here is a fine example of anthropogenic change to the planet's weather, ecosystems and even the planet's very ability to feed us.

From the government's findings on the NOAA web site: "What is particularly noteworthy is these boreal conditions associated with the snow crab collapse are more than 200 times likely to occur in the present climate (1.0 degrees -1.5 degrees of warming rate) than in the preindustrial era," said Mike Litzow, lead author and director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's Kodiak Lab. "Even more concerning is that Arctic conditions conducive for snow crabs to retain their dominant role in the southeastern Bering Sea are expected to continue to decline in the future." [...] Litzow and his team expect to see Arctic conditions in only 8 percent of future years in the southeastern Bering Sea.
The warmer temperatures brought existential threats including including a fatal disease and more crab-eating predators, their study found. CNN reports that the crabs' "horrific demise appears to be just one impact of the massive transition unfolding in the region, scientists reported... Parts of the Bering Sea are literally becoming less Arctic." Billions of crabs ultimately starved to death, devastating Alaska's fishing industry in the years that followed... The decline of the Alaskan snow crab signals a wider ecosystem change in the Arctic, as oceans warm and sea ice disappears. The ocean around Alaska is now becoming inhospitable for several marine species, including red king crab and sea lions, experts say...

The Arctic region has warmed four times faster than the rest of the planet, scientists have reported. Litzow called what's happening in the Bering Sea a "bellwether" of what's to come. "All of us need to recognize the impacts of climate change," he said.

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US Scientists Identify Cause of Massive Crab Die-Off

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  • I haven't been able to afford grab for years...Sucks for the fishermen who's income depends on their being grabs. I guess they should just learn to code or something, since we're not stopping this warming trend anyway.

    • Maybe you should ask for crab instead of grab. Most people won't let you grab unless you pay a huge amount of money. Crab costs a lot less.

      • Haha that's a great typo. And twice no less. Still, if I could afford the CRAB then maybe she would let me grab? Likely not. Not even crab would override nerdism :)

  • "Drill baby drill!" The man is mentally ill.

  • Years back when everyone was watching ‘Deadliest Catch’ we learned these water bug bastards migrate like nobody’s business. Are we certain they didnt judt move further north? Its not all alaskan land mass on one side. Theres that dotted chain between russia and alaska. The lack of catch definitely explains the price hikes. Not even shitty Chinese buffets offer all you can eat crab anymore. And the Calabash buffers are crazy expensive now.

    • We ARE certain their environment is no longer capable of sustaining them. We ARE certain the environment is changing due to the industrialization of human society. What part of this progression escapes you?
      • by e3m4n ( 947977 )

        The extinction. Its one thing to say we made the bearing sea uninhabitable for apillio. Its another to say they all died off. One is significant worse and if not true, rather alarmist and doesn't help. I would much rather hear they migrated. The fix for that is much better than repopulating an endangered species. Overfishing is a real problem. But crab also migrate where their food supply migrates. They are actually temperature resilient. But will starve if the food source disappears.

        • Congratulations on becoming a scientist. You've just put forth a hypothesis. You should now see if you can find snow crabs living where the previously weren't to suport your hypothesis and make it a theory. Other scientists can then evaluate your theory. I think you'll find it a more effective method to get people to take you seriously.
  • Never would have guessed they would have decided it was climate change. My money was on them determining that the reason for this happening was excessive government spending and taxation.

  • > The warmer temperatures brought existential threats including including a fatal disease and more crab-eating predators, their study found. ... >> Billions of crabs ultimately starved to death, The summary kind of misses something here: it wasn't a fatal disease or more crab-eating predators, but that the warmer water increased the crabs' caloric needs.

(null cookie; hope that's ok)

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