EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Each week a different image of our fascinating environment is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional ecologist.

17-23 June 2024

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Sally Lightfoot on the Rocks

Sally Lightfoot Crab (Grapsus grapsus), Family Grapsidae
Floreana Island, Galapagos, Ecuador

Credit & Copyright: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot

Explanation:  In this nice brief pose is a sally lightfoot on the rocks.  Although that sounds like the name of pub drink, this is a crab species common to the Pacific Coast of Central and South America, extending here into the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador.  

Being highly generalist in their diets, sally lightfoot crabs play a role in reducing many kinds of organic waste along rocky shorelines.  They even consume ticks off marine iguanas, and thus serve a function to reduce ectoparasite infestations for that lizard species.   

          
      

Next week's picture:  Snowfinch in Stress

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Author & Webmaster: Dr. Bruce G. Marcot
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