Andrey is continuing research he started last year on eelgrass and invasive green crabs along PEI shorelines. Eelgrass is a grass-like underwater flowering plant that provides critical habitat for many marine species and it is threatened by pollution, invasive species and climate change. One new marine invader to PEI, the Green Crab destroys eelgrass when it feeds on small marine invertebrates that live in the sediments.
This summer, Andrey has been monitoring eelgrass density in three locations on the East coast of PEI, looking at the seasonal variation in eelgrass density and checking for potential links between green crab abundance and eelgrass health. He uses traps to determine green crab densities in the areas where he is monitoring eelgrass, and is also conducting laboratory and field experiments to test whether the green crabs have a direct effect on eelgrass. So far, laboratory experiments have confirmed that the crabs are having a negative effect on the number of shoots, leaves and biomass of the eelgrass.
Student Research