Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs

by Tanacredi, John T.; Botton, Mark L.; Smith, David R.

• ISBN13: 9780387899589
• ISBN10: 0387899588
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-11-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

The four living species of horseshoe crabs face a set of growing threats to their survival, including the erosion and/or man-made alteration of essential spawning habitat, coastal pollution, and overfishing. Horseshoe crabs are 'living fossils', with a more than 200 million year evolutionary history. Their blood provides a reagent, known as Limulus amebocyte lysate or LAL, that clots in the presence of minute quantities of bacterial endotoxin; the LAL test is the state-of-the-art methodology used to ensure that pharmaceuticals and surgical implants are free of contamination. Horseshoe crabs are an integral part of the food web in coastal marine ecosystems, and their eggs provide essential food for shorebirds in the Delaware Bay estuary each spring. The commercial fishery for horseshoe crabs, which utilizes animals for bait, contributes to the economies of coastal communities.This book consists of papers presented at the 2007 International Symposium on the Science and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs.

Author Biography

Dr. John T. Tanacredi is Chair and Professor of Earth and Marine Sciences at Dowling College. He is a Research Associate in the Invertebrate Zoology Department at the American Museum of Natural History. Dr. Mark L. Botton is a Professor of Biology at Fordham University. Dr. David R. Smith is a Research Biological Statistician for the U.S. Geological Survey.

Table of Contents

Biology
A Populations and Habitats
Limits on the Global Distribution of Horseshoe Crabs (Limulacea): Lessons Learned from Two Lifetimes of Observations: Asia and America	p. 5
Horseshoe Crabs-An Ancient Ancestry Revealed	p. 25
The Ecological Importance of Horseshoe Crabs in Estuarineand Coastal Communities: A Review and Speculative Summary	p. 45
Relationships Between Sandpipers and Horseshoe Crab in Delaware Bay: A Synthesis	p. 65
Horseshoe Crabs, Their Eco-biological Status Along the Northeast Coast of India and the Necessity for Ecological Conservation	p. 89
American Horseshoe Crabs, Limulus polyphemus, in Mexico:Open Possibilities	p. 97
Basic Habitat Requirements of the Extant Species of HorseshoeCrabs (Limulacea)	p. 115
The Relationship Between Small- and Large-Scale Movementsof Horseshoe Crabs in the Great Bay Estuary and Limulus Behaviorin the Laboratory	p. 131
Ecology of Horseshoe Crabs in Microtidal Lagoons	p. 149
Phylogeography, Demographic History, and Reserves Network of Horseshoe Crab, Tachypleus tridentatus, in the South and EastChina Seaboards	p. 163
Genetic Structure of Japanese Populations of Tachypleus tridentatus by mtDNA AT-Rich Region Sequence Analysis	p. 183
Reproduction, Physiology, and Development
Reproductive Competition and Sexual Selection in Horseshoe Crabs	p. 199
Vision in Horseshoe Crabs	p. 223
Sperm Attachment on the Egg of Malaysian King Crab,Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda	p. 237
Distribution and Development of Limulus Egg Clusters on Intertidal Beaches in Delaware Bay	p. 249
Comparisons in Prosomal Width and Body Weight Among Early Instar Stages of Malaysian Horseshoe Crabs, Carcinoscorpiusrotundicauda and Tachypleus gigas in the Laboratory	p. 267
Emergence Behavior of Juvenile Tachypleus tridentatus Under Simulated Tidal Conditions in the Laboratory and at Two DifferentSediment Temperatures	p. 275
Distribution of Juvenile Horseshoe Crabs in Subtidal Habitatsof Delaware Bay Using a Suction-Dredge Sampling Device	p. 285
Conservation
Commercial Use and Management of Populations and Habitat
History of Horseshoe Crab Harvest on Delaware Bay	p. 299
Biomedical Applications of Limulus Amebocyte Lysate	p. 315
The Effect of Hemolymph Extraction Volume and Handling Stresson Horseshoe Crab Mortality	p. 331
Horseshoe Crabs in Hong Kong: Current Population Statusand Human Exploitation	p. 347
Comparative Status and Assessment of Limulus polyphemus with Emphasis on the New England and Delaware Bay Populations	p. 361
An Integrative Approach to Horseshoe Crab Multiple Useand Sustainability	p. 387
Strategies to Conserve and Enhance Sandy Barrier Habitatfor Horseshoe Crabs {Limulus polyphemus) on Developed Shorelinesin Delaware Bay, United States	p. 399
Conservation Program for the Asian Horseshoe Crab Tachypleus tridentatus in Taiwan: Characterizing the Microhabitat of NurseryGrounds and Restoring Spawning Grounds	p. 417
The Effects of Water Quality on Horseshoe Crab Embryos and Larvae	p. 439
Heavy Metal Concentration in Horseshoe Crab {Carcinoscorpiusrotundicauda and Tachypleus gigas) Eggs from Malaysian Coastline	p. 455
A Discussion of Horseshoe Crab Management in Five Countries:Taiwan, India, China, United States, and Mexico	p. 465
Culture and Captive Breeding
Clinical Evaluation, Common Diseases, and Veterinary Careof the Horseshoe Crab, Limulus pofypkemus	p. 479
Aquaculture Methods and Early Growth of Juvenile Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus polyphemus)	p. 501
Larval Culture of Tachypleus gigas and Its Molting Behavior Under Laboratory Conditions	p. 513
Diet Composition of Juvenile Horseshoe Crabs: Implicationsfor Growth and Survival of Natural and Cultured Stocks	p. 521
Effect of Sediment Type on Growth and Survival of Juvenile Horseshoe Crabs (Tachypleus tridentatus)	p. 535
Public Awareness and Community-Based Conservation
The Conservation Network of Horseshoe Crab Tachypleus tridentatus in Taiwan	p. 543
The History of Horseshoe Crab Research and Conservation in Japan	p. 559
Public Awareness and Community-Based Conservation for the Horseshoe Crab at Saikai National Park in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan	p. 571
Public Participation in Studies on Horseshoe Crab Populations	p. 585
Green Eggs and Sand: A Collaborative Effort of Scientists, Teachers, Resource Managers, and Stakeholders in Educating About Limulus polyphemus	p. 595
Community Building: An Integrated Approach to Horseshoe CrabConservation	p. 605
Abstracts of Additional Papers and Posters Presented	p. 613
Index	p. 641
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