If you have explored the beaches along Long Island Sound you have likely encountered a pair of crab species: the European green crab (Carcinus maenas) and the Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus). But while these two species dominate coastal ecosystems today, 300 years ago neither were present in North America. How did this pair of invasive crustaceans become so plentiful, what does it mean for our ecosystems and fisheries today, and how do warming waters change how we think of these crabs? Join our Bruce Museum Seaside Center Naturalist, Eli Fastiff, as we discuss these questions and look at the past, present, and future of non-native crab species in the Long Island Sound and the beaches of Connecticut and New England.

Eli Fastiff is a recent graduate of Cornell University, where he majored in Environment & Sustainability (concentrating in Environmental Biology and Applied Ecology) and Political Science. While he is a proud native of San Francisco, Eli grew up spending his summers with family in Massachusetts, where he learned to love the various coastal ecosystems of the Gulf of Maine. After spending three summers as a camp counselor at an Audubon nature camp, Eli served as a member of the Shoals Undergraduate Research Group on Appledore Island, Maine, where he conducted species surveys and research on Rocky Intertidal biodiversity. In the classroom, Eli focused on learning about how species interactions affect ecosystems, and how humans influence—and are influenced by—these interactions. Eli's favorite animal is the Atlantic horseshoe crab.

This program is free of charge. No beach pass is required if you are attending the Fred Elser First Sunday Science. Please let them know at the gate you are attending the Bruce Museum Seaside Center lecture. First Sunday Science programs take place at the Floren Family Environmental Center at Innis Arden Cottage, Greenwich Point Park, Old Greenwich, CT.