Tags
The shores of South Jersey bordering Delaware Bay are where Horseshoe Crabs come ashore every May to mate. The female crabs lay eggs in the sand and the male crabs fertilize them. The eggs are a favorite source of food for many birds, particularly for Red Knots, those long-distance migrators that travel more than 9,000 miles (15,000 km) from Tierra del Fuego at the very end of South America to the Artic in North America.
So at this time of the year. there are literally thousands and thousands of shore birds, including Red Knots, at the South Jersey shore. To protect the birds the beaches are off limits to people for one month, from May 7th to June 7th, which meant I could only take pictures from a good distance away.
Even in the above photo, you can see several Horseshoe Crab that got upended, laying on their backs waiting for the tide to help them get back on their feet. Many will eventually die if that does not happen, becoming another source of food for seagulls and other birds.
Mary said:
Amazing that you were so far away and yet got such great clarity to the shots. I’m surprised that any survive with the onslaught of the birds going after them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
neihtn2012 said:
Yet, they do survive from the birds’ onslaught. Nature has a way to bring things into equilibrium, somehow.
LikeLiked by 1 person
bluebrightly said:
I love this post, the way it brings the whole story together. And I love the last picture because it shows the richness that the Jersey shore still produces. My mother talked about the horseshoe crabs on the beaches when she was a child, almost a hundred years ago, around Jones Beach I think. It’s nice to know they are still with us, and have been for such a long time that maybe they will outlive is, if we don’t destroy the planet!
LikeLiked by 1 person
neihtn2012 said:
Thank you for your comments. It’s good to know these crabs were around us 100 years ago, and millions of years ago, and hopefully millions of years to come.
LikeLiked by 1 person
katelon said:
How do any eggs survive to continue the species? Great photos.
LikeLiked by 1 person
neihtn2012 said:
Katelon, looking at the birds I had the same thought. But nature somehow makes sure there are always enough eggs that survive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
de Wets Wild said:
I always think of horseshoe crabs as fascinating living fossils – interesting to think that they’ve been part of the foodchain (so beautifully depicted by you, Hien) for an unfathomable amount of time!
LikeLiked by 1 person
neihtn2012 said:
Thanks Dries! Some claim that their numbers are dwindling because fishermen capture and use them for bait. There has been a ban on that since 2006. On the other hand, Horseshoe Crabs are captured, 1/3 of their blood is taken for medical use, and then they are released. They claim that this has no effect on the crabs, but I wonder.
LikeLiked by 1 person
de Wets Wild said:
What medical use could there be for their blood, Hien? It would be such a shame if we manage to drive a living fossil to extinction…
LikeLiked by 1 person
neihtn2012 said:
Horseshoe Crab blood, which is blue, is used to test and make sure that medical equipment and vaccines are free of bacteria before they are used. Their blood is reputed to detect baterria contamination as small as one part in one trillion, better than anything else. The blood sells for $15,000 a quart! See: http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/how-horseshoe-crab-blood-saves-millions-lives/
LikeLiked by 1 person
de Wets Wild said:
Absolutely fascinating – thanks, Hien!
LikeLike
Eliza Waters said:
I think it is awesome that people are excluded – nature needs all the breaks we can give her. Your photos are wonderful, Hien!
LikeLiked by 1 person
neihtn2012 said:
Thanks Eliza! Did you know that the pharmaceutical industry siphons off up to 1/3 of the blood of the Horseshoe Crabs that they manage to capture? There is a debate about whether the crabs survive or die afterwards.
LikeLike
Eliza Waters said:
More studies should be done if that is an unknown. Big Pharma can pay for that. Overall, HC numbers are down so it sounds like an important piece of the picture. Thanks, Hien.
LikeLike
nhi said:
Excellent long distance shots.
LikeLiked by 1 person
neihtn2012 said:
Thank you Anh Nhi!
LikeLike
photobyjohnbo said:
Interesting how nature provides.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Michael Andrew Just said:
I remember horseshoe crabs as a kid growing up along Long Island Sound in Connecticut
LikeLiked by 2 people
neihtn2012 said:
They haven’t changed much in millions of years, so they should still look the same as the ones on Long Island Sound.
LikeLike
neihtn2012 said:
Indeed, John. Eat and be eaten..
LikeLiked by 1 person