Herbivorous Crabs Reverse the Seaweed Dilemma on Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are on a steep trajectory of decline, with natural recovery in many areas unlikely.^1-3 Eutrophication, overfishing, climate change, and disease have fueled the supremacy of seaweeds on reefs,^4,5 particularly in the Caribbean, where many reefs have undergone an ecological phase shift so that seaweeds now dominate previously coral-rich reefs.^6-8 Discovery of the powerful grazing capability of the Caribbean's largest herbivorous crab (Maguimithrax spinosissimus)⁹ led us to test the effectiveness of their grazing on seaweed removal and coral reef recovery in two experiments conducted sequentially at separate locations 15 km apart in the Florida Keys (USA). In those experiments, we transplanted crabs onto several patch reefs, leaving others as controls (n = 24 reefs total; each 10-20 m² in area) and then monitored benthic cover, coral recruitment, and fish community structure on each patch reef for a year. We also compared the effectiveness of crab herbivory to scrubbing reefs by hand to remove algae. Crabs reduced the cover of seaweeds by 50%-80%, resulting in a commensurate 3-5-fold increase in coral recruitment and reef fish community abundance and diversity. Although laborious hand scrubbing of reefs also reduced algal cover, that effect was transitory unless maintained by the addition of herbivorous crabs. With the persistence of Caribbean coral reefs in the balance, our findings demonstrate that large-scale restoration that includes enhancement of invertebrate herbivores can reverse the ecological phase shift on coral reefs away from seaweed dominance.