Athens, Ga. Researchers have found that a species invasion that
starts at the upstream edge of its range may have a major
advantage over downstream competitors, at least in environments
with a strong prevailing direction of water or wind currents.
Scientists from the University of Georgia, University of New
Hampshire, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and
University of Vermont studied populations of European green
crab, Carcinus maenas. The species was introduced to the East
Coast of North America twice, at both the upper and lower edges
of its range. Their findings, recently published in the
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may help inform
the control of invasive species and the conservation of
imperiled native species. "In New England, they're worried,"
said Jeb Byers, an associate professor at the UGA Odum School of
Ecology and one of the paper's authors. "These green crabs have
been doing a number on native shellfish. They eat a lot of
clams. And they're a very cosmopolitan species