Stranding and mortality of pelagic crustaceans in the western Indian Ocean
Recent observations of unusual mass stranding and mortality of two Indian Ocean crustacean species, the swimming crabCharybdis smithiiand the mantis shrimpNatosquilla investigatoris, are documented and analysed. Strandings ofC. smithiiwere observed for the first time in the equatorial Indian Ocean, the main area of its pelagic distribution. Strandings of mantis shrimps are reported from throughout the western Indian Ocean; occurrences of mass stranding in the Maldives Archipelago mark an extension of the known range ofN. investigatorisinto the central Indian Ocean. Mortality of crabs probably represents a ‘catastrophic event’. In contrast, mantis shrimp strandings, which were always associated with a sudden increase of its biomass (‘blooms’), are apparently post-reproduction mortalities indicating potential semelparity for this species.