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A Christmas Wreath of Crabs

Square land crabs (Gecarcinus quadratus) form a defensive ring in a collection bucket at the Liquid Jungle Lab in Panama. Research by Joanna Gyory, a graduate student in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Oceanography, revealed the previously unknown life cycle and behavior of the crabs, which live on land but emerge from their burrows at the first sign of rainy season and swarm nearby beaches to lay their eggs in the ocean. This photo also graces the cover of the newest issue of Oceanus magazine, which features an article on Gyory and her crabs.(Photo by Joanna Gyory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)