Marine & Freshwater Environmental Education
It’s not often you stumble across this on the beach. I asked horseshoe crab expert Danielle Chesky, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, what was happening in this picture and she said that “they’re dug in for the day after spawning until the high tide comes and they can get back out to sea”. For more posts on horseshoe crabs check out the Limulus Love page. Thank you to a colleague’s in-laws for sending along this picture.
In case you have not had the opportunity to get your hands on the new book, Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms, about animals that have remained unchanged through time (Richard Fortey) here is a video from the BBC on how the horseshoe crab has been able to survive through the ages.
I am particularly fond of this clip because the horseshoe crab expert notes that the horseshoe crab, while an opportunistic and a generalist, is not an aggressive animal.
Please feel free to comment if you’re one of the few that has eaten horseshoe crab eggs.
It’s just about time to get back to reality from a weekend, so why not extend the good times and share your beachcomber adventures?Did you find anything interesting? Did you watch any birds swoop down to the sea for food? What was the sunset like? Share your pictures or any fun stories! Here is a photograph I call ‘Littlest Limulus Love‘ from a visit the the Stone Harbor Point.
Looking forward to hearing all the amusing anecdotes from your times at the sea! To share you can reply to this post or find Beach Chair Scientist on Facebook or Twitter.
“The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.” — Plato (Greek philosopher, 428 – 347 BC)
Find more great nature at play quotes compiled by the “Institute for Nature in Childhood” here.
Whether we know it or not, the Atlantic horseshoe crab has made a significant impact on many of our lives. The significance of this living fossil can be found in its capacity to resist change for millions of years, its special copper-based blood is crucial to the medical field, and its ability to provide food for millions of migratory birds year after year.
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