Ration of the red king crab on coastal shoals of the Barents Sea

In different habitats of the Kola Bay (Western Murman) and Dalnezelenetskaya and Yarnyshnaya bays (Eastern Murman), the size and structure of ecological rations (foraging of benthos) of the red king crab, which is an alien species in the Barents Sea, was established. The material for the study was collected in 2000–2009. In the Kola Bay, significant variability in time of this nutrition was detected for individuals of the same size category, which was associated with the depletion of food resources due to the high abundance of invaders in the area. The stable values of the ration and its structures in Eastern Murman bays indicated the prosperous state of benthic communities and an insignificant impact of crabs on these communities.