An Incoming Flood on a Cryptic Stage: Understanding Alien Crustacean Invasions in Southeast Asia

Despite being both an ancient center of trade and now one of the world’s busiest ports, few marine invasions, and no alien marine or estuarine crustaceans, are reported from Singapore. This study proposes that a large number of alien species in Singapore specifically, and in Southeast Asia in general, may be overlooked, due to our lack of historical knowledge of the biota. This is illustrated with a list of 127 species of crabs that occur in Singapore but whose aboriginal distributions could have been impacted by human-mediated vectors. Biofouling, ballast water, and the ornamental and live seafood trade now serve to bring in a large number of alien species into Singapore: these, in turn, set the stage for future invasions and management concerns.