#Sea scavengers full#
#Sea scavengers free#

It is because the crabs consume the seaweed and help the corals to breathe. Research has shown that with the ongoing devastating effects of climate change, many coral reefs are getting clogged and dying due to the accumulation of seaweed.īut the reefs where there are more crabs, the accumulation of seaweed near the reefs has reduced significantly. Most crabs live in the sea, which is why when you visit the beach, you might see crabs scuttling along the sands.Ĭrabs consume worms, shrimps, small fishes, and even algae or seaweed. It has been documented that there are over 4500 different species of crabs across the world, and most of these crabs are omnivores. What animals eat seaweed? List of ocean animals that eat seaweed: 1.List of ocean animals that eat seaweed:.This unusual anecdote further above got me thinking, and with his help, I made this list to take a closer look at the animals that eat seaweed. The animals that eat seaweed keep the ocean clean and unclogged in a manner of saying. Just as I found out what eats seaweed I learned that these creatures consume the algae allowing the coral reefs to breathe.

#Sea scavengers free#

Just as we need to clean our swimming pools regularly to keep them free of moss, the oceans also need to be cleaned.

He was working on animals living near the coral reefs of Australia, where he studied creatures that would consume algae and seaweed.Īs we got talking, I understood that these creatures helped protect the coral reefs by consuming the algae. An oceanographer friend recently gave me an insight into the eating habits of several sea animals.

#Sea scavengers full#

The ocean is full of amazing creatures, and several of these creatures have varied eating habits. Zootaxa, 3784 (4): 301–345.What animals eat seaweed? This is the question on every marine biologist’s mind. (2014) A revision of the lysianassid genus Waldeckia with the description of four new species (Crustacea, Amphipoda, Lysianassidae, Waldeckinae subfam. It is difficult to imagine what the sea bottom would be like without these efficient little scavengers to clean up the mess.ĭr Jim Lowry Principal Research Scientist But the only one to compete with Waldeckia for sheer numbers and widespread distribution is the cirolanid isopod genus Natatolana. There are 10 genera and more than 50 species of amphipods and 16 genera and at least 100 species of isopods. During the early 1990s, we laid baited traps all along the east coast and succeeded in catching them in their thousands in traps from the shallow bays down to 3658 m depth in the Tasman Sea.Īustralia has a rich fauna of small scavengers like Waldeckia. It is hard to imagine how common Waldeckia is along the east coast. We currently know of 8 species in Australian waters, but there are probably many more to discover, especially along the relatively unexplored coastline of Western Australia. But it is Australia where it is has become most speciose and most common. In the Western Pacific Ocean Waldeckia has moved up through the South China Sea and into southern Japan. As Australia moved farther north and eventually docked with the Asian plate Waldeckia moved across and has continued to migrate north-west as far as the Andaman Sea.