KINGSTON, R.I., Oct. 13 -- The University of Rhode Island issued the following news release:
KINGSTON, R.I. - Oct. 13, 2026 - Fear changes behavior. For a ribbed mussel clinging to a New England salt marsh, the presence of a blue crab nearby can mean eating less and holding tighter to the marsh platform, bracing for danger. The crab doesn't even have to attack.
That response - what scientists call a "fear effect" - is at the heart of research by University of Rhode Island graduate student Maja Nielsen. A master's student in URI's Biological and Environmental Sciences program working with Assistant Professor of Watershed Ecology Shelby Rinehart, Nielsen is studying whether fishing-driven shifts change how ribbed mussels respond to the thre...