Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
crab numbers were significantly lower on beaches subject to off-highway-vehicle traffic than on wild or
pedestrian-only beaches. Mole crabs also are severely affected by vehicular traffic, even though ohvs rarely
enter the swash zone. Since ghost crabs and mole crabs occupy a midpoint in the food web, breaking down and
digesting detritus and serving as food for fish and birds, their loss has ramifications throughout the food web.
A shallow scrape provides scant protection for eggs of the endangered piping plover.
