It turns out that there are more than 654.38+0 million giant king crabs in this area. Judging from the basic situation, they simply occupied this submarine basin.
Are these king crabs the kind we see every day? What harm do they do to the ecology? Where did they invade? Is there any way to solve it? How terrible are these king crabs that swept across Europe and invaded Antarctica and looked like giant spiders? If everything you eat is saving the world, why don't humans "eat up" them?
I believe many people know about King Crab through the videos of some food bloggers on the Internet. In these videos, they will show the size of the king crab, and then show the meat quality and eating method of this crab, which makes many people want to try it very much.
What we don't know is that the king crab brought to the table by human beings is actually an extremely aggressive species. In these years, they first swept across Europe and then invaded Antarctica.
With his oversized body, he "fights" everywhere. This situation is a devastating blow to the species in its invasion area. After all, the king crab is not a "soft" creature, but a top predator. So, how did the king crab reach so many places? What harm did their invasion bring?
First, we need to know what some king crabs are. Because there are so many kinds of crabs, many people can't tell the king crab from the king crab. After all, there seems to be no difference between an emperor and an emperor. There are many kinds of king crabs, about 1 13 species, which belong to crustaceans of the family Eriocheir, not real crabs.
Most of the time, king crabs like to live in cold deep-sea areas, such as the cold water area of the North Pacific Ocean, where there are a large number of king crabs. Originally, this creature has become a delicacy on people's table because of its delicious meat, but with the change of environment, the destruction of king crab to the ecological environment has become increasingly prominent.
First, the king crab invaded the Barents Sea, which is one of the marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, very close to Europe, from which the king crab swept the whole of Europe. It turns out that the Barents Sea is located in the Arctic Ocean, but because of the warm current, the seawater here is not frozen all year round. Anyone with relevant geographical knowledge knows that ocean currents will bring rich "bait and nutrients".
Therefore, in 1960s, with the arrival of Soviet scientists, the king crab began to settle and breed in the Barents Sea. Many people may say, isn't this a good thing? The faster and more king crabs grow, the more people can catch them and eat them. However, with the intensification of global warming, the king crab, which originally lived in the Barents Sea, began to "expand" and generally expanded to Svalbard.
After arriving here, the extremely fast and huge king crab immediately became the overlord of the biological chain. The local ecology is in a mess. This terrible breeding speed and the way of military conquest highlight the terrible place of the king crab.
You know, the longest wingspan of king crab can reach 1.8 meters, which is consistent with the height of an adult male. In addition to its long gait, it has a thick carapace, which can be said to be both "offensive" and "defensive". In this case, the fierce king crab is invincible in the sea without natural enemies.
Then, what about more than 654.38+0 million king crabs discovered by scientists in the Antarctic? It turned out that scientists from Ghent University in Belgium used submarines to observe that there were more than 6,543,800 king crabs in the Palmer deep sea under the continental shelf near Antarctica.
These king crabs are very big, and their wingspan is about one meter. At that time, scientists found that they were very different. Because king crabs like to live in cold waters, the lowest water temperature they can survive is 1.4 degrees Celsius, so it is reasonable to say that the low temperature of Antarctic seawater should not be suitable for their survival.
However, the fact is that these king crabs are not only alive and kicking here, but also breed to this scale soon. Are they all evolved? Have been able to adapt to the lower water temperature?
Of course not. I think everyone knows the real reason. It's global warming. Due to global warming, the water temperature in Antarctic waters has risen rapidly, and the previously cold sea water has now become "warm". In this case, the king crab can breed and survive here at will.
As a top predator, the king crab has few rivals in Antarctic waters. They killed all the echinoderms living here. It can be said that most creatures in this sea area have been invaded by the king crab. Faced with this situation, biologists said that they had a headache.
Then, since king crabs have done so much damage to the environment, why don't humans punish them with "appetite"? Today, there are so many endangered species on the earth. If every king crab you eat is saving the earth, why not carry out the "eat crabs for all" campaign to eliminate these king crabs?
I believe that most people have this confusion. You know, the price of king crab has always been high. If they really bully men and women because of their big size, why don't humans catch them and eat them? This is based on the experience of crab catchers. As one of the "top predators" in the ocean, the king crab is obviously not allowed to be captured by humans like ordinary small fish and shrimp.
According to the research data, people engaged in the king crab fishing industry often face great risks. It is no exaggeration to say that in the crab season, a crab catcher dies every week near the Bering Strait for various reasons.
It turns out that the king crab is too big in length and physique, and it is impossible to catch these big guys with ordinary equipment. Fishermen often use steel crab cages to catch king crabs. These crab cages weigh as much as 300 kilograms, and any improper operation will bring life danger to crab catchers.
Fortunately, the king crab can't resist the temptation of cod in the crab cage, so most of the time the crab cage can catch some "harvest" But it is also difficult to salvage crab cages, because the sea area is not only very cold, but also very stormy. At this time, the crab cage tottering in the wind and waves may cause the hull to lose its balance and eventually be overturned by the waves.
Although the crab catcher on board can get a generous bonus when he comes home with a full load, compared with the danger of this profession, it is "exchanging his life for money". This is also the reason why the price of king crabs has been high, because it is very difficult and costly to catch them, so even if humans can kill the invading king crabs by eating, we should consider whether they have the strength to catch them on a large scale.
What's more, the ecological environment in Antarctica is already very fragile. It is hard to say whether it will be more profitable or destructive if crab boats are allowed to work inside. Everyone must understand that there is no good solution to the problem of king crab flooding. Everyone thinks it is impossible to solve it simply and rudely by eating, unless it becomes easier for us to catch king crabs in the future.
Moreover, eating seafood is actually "risky". Nowadays, people pay more and more attention to their health, and may not eat king crabs on a large scale. Since eating can't save the world, is there any other way?
Judging from the root cause of king crab invasion, it is caused by rising temperature. Therefore, if human beings want to change this situation, they can only slow down the trend of global warming. Although it is difficult to go back to the beginning, as long as the rising speed of seawater temperature is restrained, the time for these king crabs to "enter the house" will be delayed.
It can be seen that the impact of global warming on ecology is by no means limited to any one aspect, and "terrible disasters" have occurred in places we can't see.