Using Social Media Platforms to Study the Ecology and Exploitation of Mud Lobsters in the Philippines.

Mud lobsters are burrowing crustaceans that are widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific region, including the Philippines. However, they are somehow neglected in scientific studies in the country. The increasing risks brought by this pandemic further impede field surveys as mobilization is highly regulated. Hence, the use of social media platforms was explored to study the ecology and exploitation of mud lobsters in the Philippines. This study used content analysis of YouTube videos. Key terms were searched to identify contents such as 'Philippines,' 'mud lobsters,' and local terms like 'bulaso,' 'uson,' and 'urong.' A total of 30 videos were analyzed. Videos were posted from 2015–2021 from at least 10 provinces. Results reinforce the already known wide distribution of mud lobsters in mangrove forests, fishponds, and rice fields beside mangroves. Still, there were notable mud lobster behaviors observed such as 1) surfacing during the rainy season, 2) the timing of which disturbed burrow is repaired, and 3) conspecific repulsion – all of which were not previously documented. Empty burrows were also found inhabited by the terrestrial crab Cardisoma carnifex. Mud lobsters were commonly caught using bamboo traps, but some had developed unique fishing techniques such as mound disturbance and the tali-tali method. Alarmingly, this study also found the use of toxic chemicals for illegal fishing activity. This study provides evidence on the potential use of social media to study aquatic organisms. Additional knowledge on mud lobster ecology and baseline information on some aspects of its fishery in the Philippines was observed. Social media can be useful for surveillance and ecological studies but could not be used as an alternative method for in-depth biological and taxonomic studies, where actual specimens are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]