Sandy beaches in highly urbanised areas are subject to a wide range of human impacts. Ghost crabs are a
commonly used ecological indicator on sandy beaches, as they are key consumers in these systems and
counting burrow openings allows for rapid assessment of population size. This study assessed the
pressures of urbanisation on sandy beaches in the highly urbanised estuary of Sydney Harbour. Across 38
beaches, we examined which physical beach properties, management practices and human induced
habitat modification best predicted ghost crab distributions. Of all variables measured, the frequency of
mechanical beach cleaning was the most important predictor of crab abundance, with low burrow
densities at the highest cleaning frequency and the highest densities at beaches cleaned at the intermediate
frequency (3 times per week). These results indicate that ghost crab populations in Sydney
Harbour are more robust to the impacts of urbanisation than previously thought.