Snow Crabs Bounce Back in the Bering Sea: Climate Shifts, Fisheries, and Bumblebee Emotions

The Science podcast episode explores the dramatic 2020 die-off of Bering Sea snow crabs, the slow recovery through 2025, and what scientists predict for future fisheries in a warming ocean. It also features a segment on detecting emotions in bumblebees, highlighting interdisciplinary work on animal affect. The conversation with Warren Cornwall delves into the climate and ecosystem factors behind the die-off, the economic importance of the snow crab fishery, and the challenges of forecasting population dynamics in a rapidly changing Arctic environment.

Arctic Snow Crab Die-off: The 2020 Crisis and Current Status

The episode revisits the astonishing 2020 snow crab decline in the Bering Sea, where researchers estimated a loss on the scale of tens of billions of crabs. The discussion emphasizes the interconnected drivers: unusually warm water, reduced ice, and shifts in wind regimes that disrupted the crabs’ habitat and food sources. The interview with Warren Cornwall underscores that the die-off was tied to a broad climatic upheaval in the region, with ongoing surveys indicating a gradual bounce-back but no certainty about future stability. The snow crab fishery is economically vital, and pauses in harvesting were implemented as scientists try to better understand population resilience and the signals that precede another potential crash. "50 billion missing crabs" — Warren Cornwall

Recovery and Monitoring: What Researchers Can Tell Us

As the fishery moves through a cautious recovery, scientists are wrestling with how to forecast future years. The host and correspondent describe the crabs’ vulnerability to sudden food shortages and the long recovery timeline—crabs can endure eight months without food, and population signals can lag seasonal dynamics. The conversation highlights the tools scientists rely on, including regular surveys and ecological indicators, to gauge whether the rebound is sustained or fragile. The discussion also situates the snow crab situation within a broader context of global fisheries that may face similar fluctuations as ocean temperatures rise and ice cover recedes, complicating management decisions and harvest planning. "they can go 8 months without food, basically" — Warren Cornwall

Global Implications: Borealization and Future Fisheries

The episode broadens the lens to climate-driven ocean change, describing a process some scientists term borealization, where Arctic and boreal ecosystems increasingly blend as warming seas shift species ranges and interactions. This framing raises questions about how fisheries worldwide will adapt to shifting habitats, moving stock boundaries, and altered predator–prey dynamics. Cornwall discusses the potential for northward range shifts to outpace human adaptation, with implications for management, stock assessments, and international cooperation. The piece connects local Arctic observations to a larger narrative about how climate change reshapes marine ecosystems and the global economy built around them. "the borealization" — Warren Cornwall

Emotions in Insects: Detecting Affect in Bumblebees

The program closes with a foray into neuroscience and animal behavior, featuring researcher Faye Peng and freelance producer Ella Feder. Their work examines whether bees exhibit emotional states and whether such affective cues can spread through colonies. The segment highlights how a seemingly hopeful bee might convey this state to its nestmates, illustrating the provocative intersection of biology, behavior, and emotion research. This cross-disciplinary exploration showcases how advances in measuring animal affect can illuminate social dynamics in insects and reveal broader principles of communication and cooperation in nature. "detecting emotions in bumblebees" — Faye Peng