A Bering Sea marine heatwave triggers unprecedented crab hybridization, challenging fisheries management.

Authors

Erin J Fedewa, Emily R Ryznar, Connor P Cleary, Jennifer L Gardner, Shannon M Hennessey, W Christopher Long, Jon I Richar, Leah S Zacher, Michael A Litzow

Published in

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. Volume 123. Issue 43. Pages e2625670123. Oct 27, 2026. Epub Oct 19, 2026.

Abstract

Marine heatwaves are increasingly recognized for their capacity to generate ecological surprises, yet the pathways that propagate these unexpected responses are often poorly understood. Here, we document an unanticipated ecological response 7 y after a Bering Sea marine heatwave, in which formerly rare snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) × Tanner crab (C. bairdi) hybrid abundance increased 13.4-fold, and the proportion of commercial-sized hybrid males increased 13.1-fold, relative to historical averages. Using causal modeling, we show that the hybrid crab surge was mediated by a heatwave-induced collapse of snow crab rather than direct thermal effects on hybrid survival or increased spatial overlap between mature snow and Tanner crab. Our results reveal an indirect cascading pathway through which an extreme climate event triggered unexpected ecological consequences and unforeseen challenges for fisheries management in the Bering Sea. The dramatic increase in abundance of harvestable hybrid crab, coupled with their exclusion from existing management frameworks, highlights the vulnerability of inflexible management systems to unanticipated ecosystem responses.

PMID:
42896061
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 20 Oct 2026.

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