Horseshoe Crabs
- Thread starter james ungehajer
- Start date
There was a great show on Ch.12 last night about Red Knots (Plovers) and it spent quite a bite of time on the Horseshoe Crab who's eggs are a major source of food for the Red Knots. It will probably be shown again.
Steve
Steve
What do the fishermen do with the horseshoe crabs? I never thought of them as an edible species. Interesting. You learn something new every day.
Edit: I actually READ the article this time and see that they are used for bait.
Edit: I actually READ the article this time and see that they are used for bait.
That was an extremely interesting episode of Nature. I had no idea the Red Knot migrated that far: Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic every season. It was also a fascinating look at the interconnections in nature that are often not immediately evident to researchers.
I did find the comment that a Delaware Bay waterman made interesting: if we're worried about the Red Knots having enough to eat, why not scatter food on the beaches?
I did find the comment that a Delaware Bay waterman made interesting: if we're worried about the Red Knots having enough to eat, why not scatter food on the beaches?
That was a really interesting show.....a little sad, but interesting. I had no idea how important horseshoe crabs were to medical research.
Well unfortunately the moratorium was rejected, http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008802120370
I think it is almost a guarentee that these birds will be extinct by the end of this decade.....very sad. I know I'm going to try to go out and get some photos before they are.
I think it is almost a guarentee that these birds will be extinct by the end of this decade.....very sad. I know I'm going to try to go out and get some photos before they are.
I've drawn blood from them (it's blue!) a few times. They have special blood cells that we used for testing for certain toxins in biological fluids. We drew blood and then put them back in the water. There's a company in Cape Cod that does that as a fulltime business! I'd totally love that job.
That's sad. I would have loved to hear the arguments against. I see that they say they don't have the data that says the horseshoe crabs are the only reason the red knots are declining.
I hope we have not heard the last of this. I think I will do a little digging for the data and write a letter to the editor about this.
Sue
If your letter is answered by the editor, if you could share his or her reply it would be greatly appreciated.
Jim
