The Neotrypaea Californiensis, also commonly known as the Bay ghost shrimp, is a species of shrimp that inhabits the waters of the Pacific Coast of North America, mostly around California. These shrimp are known as the engineers of the ecosystem because of their ability to move around sediments so well. In fact, their burrows are so large that other species such as clams and crabs use them as shelter. Bay ghost shrimp are very dependent of their burrows which provide for their shelter, feeding, and reproduction. Generally when they are not digging, this species is pretty much useless above the surface because it cannot feed and stay protected at the same time. Their burrows contain a connected system throughout which allows for great water and oxygen circulation. The bay ghost shrimp can live without oxygen for a good 6 days, so when oxygen levels are low in their burrows, it is not a huge deal.
There are usually an abundance of bay ghost shrimp in mudflats off the west coast of North America. Bay ghost shrimp can reach a length of up to …show more content…
These shrimp create a complex burrowing system in the middle intertidal zones from about zero feet to about a foot of depth on tidal flats and sandy beaches. They are constantly digging every single day because that is their method of feeding. When digging, they are multitasking by expanding the size of their burrows and ingesting plankton and detritus from the sand. So whenever they are not digging, they are wasting valuable time. Their main predators are this fish called staghorn sculpin, which usually swim around shallow coastal waters where the Bay ghost shrimp live. The good thing about their burrows is that they are usually at 0.75m at depth, which will protect the Bay ghost shrimp from most predators. These burrows have a branching system that usually contains more than one entrance, which allows the underground burrow system to circulate with