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Horseshoe crabs

The Atlantic horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) is found along the eastern seaboard from Florida to Maine. Being over 400 million years old, Horseshoe crabs are living fossils and vital to fishing and medical industries. Ecologically its existence holds importance for species from migrating birds to invertebrates. North and south Long Island shores are the site of one of the US' largest spawning areas for this species (second to Deleware Bay). At spawning, horseshoe crabs lay egg clutches in the sand where embryos develop, hatch, and then return to the sea. This creates a prime opportunity to explore this creature locally. Thus far, our lab has focused on habitat quality and its effects on developing embryos.  

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mass horseshoe crab spawning along beach
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Female (buried in middle) spawning with multiple "satellite" males
Horseshoe crab egg clutch in sand

Our work thus far has focused on horseshoe crab reproduction and habitat quality. One aspect of habitat quality is the effects of contamination by trace elements in, and various routes of uptake by, eggs and embryos. Another aspect we have explored is the the various abiotic characteristics in different habitats we find spawning to take place, and the ramifications on development of clutches laid in these habitats.

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Hatching horseshoe crab larvae
horseshoe crab juvenile
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