Egg-eating worms living on Chesapeake Bay blue crabs may hold the key to smarter fishery management. Once thought to be a threat, these parasites actually serve as natural biomarkers that reveal when and how often female crabs reproduce. Researchers found the worms are surprisingly resilient to varying salinity levels, meaning they can track crab spawning across the Bay.
Egg-eating worms living on Chesapeake Bay blue crabs may hold the key to smarter fishery management. Once thought to be a threat, these parasites actually serve as natural biomarkers that reveal when and how often female crabs reproduce. Researchers found the worms are surprisingly resilient to varying salinity levels, meaning they can track crab spawning across the Bay. Egg-eating worms living on Chesapeake Bay blue crabs may hold the key to smarter fishery management. Once thought to be a threat, these parasites actually serve as natural biomarkers that reveal when and how often female crabs reproduce. Researchers found the worms are surprisingly resilient to varying salinity levels, meaning they can track crab spawning across the Bay.