Caribbean King Crabs: Saviors of Florida's Coral Reefs

Researchers at the Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium in Florida are using a crab nursery program to raise Caribbean king crabs and help preserve coral reefs. The crabs eat algae that compete with corals, allowing them to grow faster and reproduce more successfully. However, the crabs are scarce in the coral ecosystem due to hunting, so the nursery program aims to increase their numbers. To teach the crabs how to protect themselves from predators, researchers are testing a method involving puppets.