On sandy beaches, ghost crabs are a widely used indicator species for the health of sandy beach ecosystems, and previous studies have found that their populations are susceptible to human activities on beaches around the world.
They are key consumers on sandy beaches, playing the important ecological role of being apex invertebrate predator and scavenger in these systems, whilst also being important prey for many higher order vertebrate consumers from nearby terrestrial ecosystems.
Their position as an apex consumer means that their population structure may reflect that of lower trophic levels.
They also display fossorial habits, constructing deep and complex burrows for shelter which are clearly visible on the surface of the sand, allowing for rapid assessment of population size by counting burrow entrances.