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Adult Swimming Crab

A juvenile swimming crab sits on a bed of sargassum seaweed.
(Seabird McKeon)

When they get larger, Portunus sayi are formidable predators, quick to consume any smaller animal that comes within reach. Fish, other crustaceans, and even smaller members of their own species are not safe from this hungry sargassum swimming crab.

Off the coast of Belize, Smithsonian Marine Science Network postdoctoral fellow, Seabird McKeon, studies floating seaweeds and the minuscule animals that call them home. Check out his slide show and blog and be amazed by the vast array of tiny life forms floating in the world adrift.