01/01/2026
Happy New Year, surely there is no better way to celebrate the first day of a new year than a visit down to the mangroves at East Point. We spotted Sesarmid crabs collecting freshly fallen mangrove leaves. This curious behaviour is called "Leaf caching" where the crabs dart out, collect the freshly fallen leaves and take them down to their burrows to eat. These ecosystem engineers play a vital role in recycling nutrients in mangrove ecosystems. It has been suggested that this leaf caching behaviour is a predator avoidance strategy allowing the crabs to collect their food while the tide is out and before predators re-enter the area when the tide comes back in.
