![[Brittany_field_work_photo_1_short.jpg]] ## Background In 2016, the St Piran's Hermit crab, *Clibanarius erythropus*, was found on the southwest UK. The species is now abundant across Cornwall and many sites in Devon. The closest populations to the UK are found in Brittany. My research focused on how, when, and why the species turned up in the southwest when it did. ## Research summary My key findings is that the species larvae where likely carried to the UK during an exceptional set of oceanic currents in Autumn 2014. This is based on modelling larval dispersal in the English Channel over the previous decade. Only in 2014 did currents enable to movement of large numbers of larvae from Brittany to the southwest. However, the transportation of larvae look an exceptional length of time (>30 days). Most intertidal species' larvae are unable to survive this long and not be able to overcome the barrier of the English Channel - lessening the species response to climate change. ## Papers - **Patterson C**, Laing C, Early R. [[The range expansion of Clibanarius erythropus to the UK suggests that other range-shifting intertidal species may not follow]] *Marine Biology* 2022 - **Patterson C**, Slater M, Early R, Laing C. [[The status of Clibanarius erythropus after a recent range expansion to Great Britain, with the highest latitude recording of a gravid individual]] *Marine Biology Records.* 2020 ## News coverage My research has been covered by a wide number of news outlets ([99 in total](https://link.altmetric.com/details/121269311)), including the [BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cornwall-60055099), [ITV](https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2022-01-20/cornwalls-rockpool-species-threatened-by-climate-change), and [the Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2022/jan/21/the-week-in-wildlife-in-pictures#img-21). ![[C_eythropus_picture_1.JPG]] > The St Pirans Hermit crab, Clibanarius erythropus, from Gylly Beach, Falmouth, UK.