Sydney Henderson

• BSc (Hons) Marine Biology
• Thermal acclimation dynamics and heat hardening in fiddler crabs (genus Uca)

I will be designing and carrying out my own research project to study how rising temperatures, as a result of climate change, will affect the population of fiddler crabs inhabiting the Ambeua mangrove on Kaledupa island, Indonesia. The Ambeua mangrove boasts the highest diversity of fiddler crabs anywhere in the world, and the crabs provide an invaluable service to the mangrove environment through their burrowing and foraging which retains key nutrients within the system. Fiddler crab species exhibit spatial distribution within the mangrove and experience varying degrees of sunlight exposure. With predicted increasing temperatures, the effect of the habitual exposure to sunlight and temperature may affect the crab’s response to a warmer climate

Little is known about the thermal ecology of fiddler crabs, and it will be very relevant to study how rising temperatures will affect them.

Funding sources: Newcastle University and Lord Mayor’s Trust

Supervisor: Dr Sara Marsham