Discovery of an unidentified species of nicothoid copepod infesting cancrid crabs in Santa Barbara, California

A previously unobserved and potentially novel copepod egg predator (Nicothoidae cf. Choniosphaera sp.) was recently discovered in the egg masses and gills of three commercially important rock crab species (Metacarcinus anthonyi, Romaleon antennarium, and Cancer productus) along the Gaviota Coast of Southern California west of Santa Barbara. Nicothoid egg predators have never been observed in crabs along the Pacific coast of the Americas, despite extensive historical work on cancrid crab brood mortality caused by nemertean egg predators in the 1990s. This outbreak is a recent and possibly unique event. Female copepods appear highly modified, mimicking the coloration and globular shape of crab eggs. The copepods feed by puncturing a small hole in the shell of the crab egg, aborting the development of the embryo, and subsequently facilitating entry of microbial agents. We document high copepod prevalence in ovigerous crabs along the Santa Barbara coast. Lack of fis..., See publication supplemental documentation (Appendix S1) for full methods.
 , , # Data Descriptions

Cells infilled with NA indicate that information is not applicable.

## 1. metadata.csv

* description: a CSV which contains the metadata collected for each individual crab collected and monitored during the duration of this study
* format: csv
* variables:
* **crab_id**: the unique identification tag given to each individual crab and follows the structure below
1. species (first three letters of species name)

* options include:
1. *Cancer anthonyi* (*Metacarcinus anthonyi*): ANT
2. *Cancer productus*: PRO
3. *Cancer antennarius* (*Romaleon antennarium*): ATS

1. location (first three letters of collection location)

* options include:
1. Gaviota coast: GAV
2. Unknown: UNK
3. Alegria Beach: ALE
4. Sripps: SIO
5. Hendry’s Beach: HNE

1. unique number (unique number starting with 001) for individuals that are NOT sexually mature females (i.e. males or immature females), the species name will be giv...,