The
Alaska Sea Grant has announced that it will be giving $1 million to research
why many red and blue king crabs in Alaska die during hatchery and other
factors that influence the decrease in number of these crabs. Researchers have
been working since 2006 on this task and have successfully increased the amount
of crabs who reach juvenile stage from zero to 50 percent. Some researchers
have proposed a nutrition deficiency for the cause of the numerous hatchery
deaths and it is currently being investigated. Many tests, though, must be
performed in order to discover the nutritional factors that can affect the
health of the red and blue king crabs.
In
addition, the Alaska Sea Grant has also given money to researchers who are
attempting to test whether strontium, a naturally occurring element, can be
used to trace king salmon back to their birthplace streams. Scientists believe
that discovering their birthplaces will play a key role in maintaining the
health and stability of both the king salmon and the surrounding human
population.
I
personally believe that these studies, both of them, could be very vital to the
environment in Alaska and even the Arctic as a whole. If either of these two
species become endangered or even extinct, then that could severely affect the
stability of the Arctic and eventually the entire world climate and stability.
More information on the
Alaska Sea Grant’s research work with the red and blue king crab:
Link to article:
