Decline and Local Extinction of Caribbean Eusocial Shrimp

A recent study documents the dramatic decline and apparent local extinction of eusocial shrimp species, the only known eusocial marine animals, on the Belize Barrier Reef. Researchers found that three out of four eusocial Synalpheus species, which had been abundant in coral rubble for decades, disappeared between 2012 collections and prior surveys. This decline was marked by reduced colony sizes and increased queenless colonies, while nonsocial shrimp species became more frequent. The study attributes these changes to the disappearance of sponge species that eusocial shrimp depend on, alongside broader shifts in coral assemblages. Similar patterns were observed in Jamaica, suggesting a wider trend linked to environmental changes affecting dead coral substratum and associated organisms.

Duffy, J. E., Macdonald III, K. S., Hultgren, K. M., Chak, T. C. S., & Rubenstein, D. R. (2013). Decline and Local Extinction of Caribbean Eusocial Shrimp. PLoS ONE, 8(2), e54637. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0054637