Tag Archives: off British Columbia

How a flipping crab led researchers to discover that a commercially harvested species feeds at methane seeps

Researchers have documented a group of tanner crabs vigorously feeding at a methane seep on the seafloor off British Columbia – one of the first times a commercially harvested species has been seen using this energy source. There are many implications, researchers say, and surprisingly most of them are good. Human consumption of tanner crabs – one of three species sold as snow crabs – that feed on methane-eating bacteria and archaea should not pose a health concern because methane seeps are not toxic environments. The discovery actually may mean that methane seeps could provide some seafloor-dwelling species an important hedge against climate change – because nearly all models predict less food will be falling into the deep sea in coming years >click to read<17:30