Armases cinereum, the squareback marsh crab, is a small omnivorous semi-terrestrial crustacean commonly found along the eastern coast of the United States from Maryland south to Florida. Because of their broad diet and use of a range of habitat types across the ecotone, from tidally flooded Spartina beds to upland pine forest, these crabs may be important vectors for nutrient flow within this system. They are also often found in close proximity to humans, raising the question of how coastal development may impact this species and, through it, the functioning of these adjacent ecosystems more generally. As a prelude to studying how human activity and marsh-adjacent structures impact A. cinereum’s behavior, we conducted pilot work to identify environmental factors correlated with crab foraging activity. Feeding arenas (one sand-coated, one uncoated white plastic) baited with blue crab scraps were set up near the high-tide line and we video-recorded feeding activity at these locations for 20 minute periods within 1 hour of high tide, across a range of times and temperatures. To test crabs’ responses to nearby human activity, a researcher was positioned within 2m of the feeding arenas for some observations. Here we present preliminary data on the relationships between time of day, temperature, feeding area substrate, and nearby human presence on crabs’ willingness to feed in baited locations. We predict that crabs will be most active at moderate temperatures and at times close to sunrise and sunset rather than at midday when temperature and light levels are highest. We also predict that crabs will prefer to feed on substrates similar in color and texture to bare ground, rather than a high-contrast plastic surface, and that they will forage less in the presence of humans.