Agonistic interactions between invasive green crabs, Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus), and sub-adult American lobsters, Homarus americanus (Milne Edwards)

The invasive green crab, Carcinus maenas, has recently expanded its range into the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, where there is potential for substantial niche overlap with juvenile American lobsters, Homarus americanus. We used two experiments to elicit, record and analyze the agonistic interactions of adult green crabs (carapace width of 63-75 mm) and sub-adult (carapace length of 55-70 mm) lobsters. The first experiment gave each animal equal access to a limited food resource. The green crabs were first to the food in significantly more trials, spent a significantly greater proportion of time with the food, and were able to successfully defend the food from attacks by the heavier lobsters. In the second experiment, we allowed the lobsters to gain possession and initiate feeding on the food before releasing the green crabs. In these trials, the lobsters spent significantly more time with the food, and were able to defend the food from the green crabs. The results of both experiments are discussed in the context of game theory. The different behaviour of the crustaceans in the two experiments is consistent with the “bourgeois” strategy in a hawk and dove game simulation. With this strategy, an animal acts like a hawk if in possession of a resource, but acts like a dove if the other animal is in possession of the resource. The fact that the green crabs were able to physically compete with, and in many cases dominate the larger, heavier lobsters supports the potential for competitive impacts of green crabs on sub-adult lobsters.