A Contribution to the Population Biology of Horseshoe Crabs, Limulus polyphemus (L.), in Delaware Bay

Shuster, Carl N.; Botton, Mark L.

doi:10.2307/1351874

Cited by 143 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In Long Island Sound, spawning begins in early May and peaks by the end of May (Beekey and Mattei 2009). In Delaware Bay, spawning occurs from April through at least July, with peak spawning in May and June (Shuster and Botton 1985;Michels et al 2008; Smith and Michels 2006). In Georgia and South Carolina, spawning has been reported from March to July, peaking in May (Thompson 1998 (Rudloe 1980;Brockmann et al 2015; FWC online survey).…”

Section: Spawningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation status of the American horseshoe crab, (Limulus polyphemus): a regional assessment

Smith

Brockmann

Beekey³

et al. 2016

Rev Fish Biol Fisheries

110

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Section: Spawningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation status of the American horseshoe crab, (Limulus polyphemus): a regional assessment

Smith

Brockmann

Beekey³

et al. 2016

Rev Fish Biol Fisheries

110

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“…Spawning time varies latitudinally with northern populations of adults migrating to beaches in the late spring, from March to July (Shuster, 1982b). The peak migration in the Delaware Bay area generally occurs during the evening new and full moon tides in May and June (Shuster and Botton, 1985;Shuster, 1982b).…”

Section: Life Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Females dig an excavation below their body and deposit their eggs in clumps within the intertidal zone at depths ranging from 5 to 30 cm (Rudloe, 1979;Brockmann, 1990). Each clump contains approximately 3650 eggs, on average (Shuster and Botton, 1985), which are fertilized when waves wash spermatozoa released by males into the area of the eggs (Shuster, 1982b). It has been suggested that adult horseshoe crabs can spawn multiple times each season (Shuster, 1950).…”

Section: Life Historymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Female horseshoe crabs come ashore at high tide with males in amplexus, accompanied by unattached "suitor" males (Botton and Loveland, 1989). They deposit up to 20 egg clusters, each with an average of 3650 eggs about 10 to 20 cm below the sand's surface (Shuster and Botton, 1985). This depth is beyond the reach of most shorebirds (Clark, 1996), but wave action and burrowing by spawning horseshoe crabs move some of the eggs toward the sand's surface (Botton et al, 1994).…”

Section: Stakeholders a Environmentalists And Shorebirdsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From the 1870s to the 1960s, catch records in the Delaware Bay region exhibited a progressive decline from a maximum of over 4 million horseshoe crabs per year to less than 100,000 (Shuster and Botton, 1985) ( Figure 3). Horseshoe crabs are no longer harvested for fertilizer or livestock feed, not because of fishery restrictions, but because of a decline in the number of horseshoe crabs, competition with other fertilizers, and public complaints of odor (Berkson and Shuster, 1999).…”

Section: B the Horseshoe Crab Commercial Fisherymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Horseshoe Crab, Limulus polyphemus: 200 Million Years of Existence, 100 Years of Study

Walls

Berkson

Smith

2002

Reviews in Fisheries Science

168

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Predicting use of habitat patches by spawning horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) along a complex coastline with field surveys and geospatial analyses

Landi

Vokoun

Howell

et al. 2014

Aquatic Conservation

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This research described coastal habitat characteristics at a landscape scale and followed a geospatial modelling approach to predict the probability of habitat use by the population of Atlantic horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) in Long Island Sound (LIS, USA). This approach was developed to aid in decision‐making regarding management of horseshoe crab spawning locations. Geospatial data layers were created within which beach slope, wave exposure, surface substrate type, and distance from offshore aggregations of crabs (i.e. hotspots) were summarized for beaches in the western, central, and eastern regions of the Connecticut coast of LIS. Spawning abundances derived from field surveys conducted in May and June of 2009 and 2010 were used with remotely‐sensed habitat characteristics to develop a resource selection function from a candidate model set based on polytomous logistic regression. A single best model (Akaike weight = 0.97) for predicting the probability of habitat use by spawning horseshoe crabs was selected using an information‐theoretic approach. The parameter estimates predicted a greater probability of habitat use with increasing slope, decreasing wave exposure, and decreasing distance from offshore hotspots. Small ‘pocket’ beaches surrounded by rocky headlands, marshes, and developed areas are the typical habitat available to support horseshoe crab spawning in LIS. As spawning densities in LIS are relatively small and suitable spawning habitat is fragmented, geospatial methods are especially useful for identifying high‐use sites and maximizing the conservation value of management actions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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A Contribution to the Population Biology of Horseshoe Crabs, Limulus polyphemus (L.), in Delaware Bay

Cited by 143 publications

References 9 publications

Conservation status of the American horseshoe crab, (Limulus polyphemus): a regional assessment

Conservation status of the American horseshoe crab, (Limulus polyphemus): a regional assessment

The Horseshoe Crab, Limulus polyphemus: 200 Million Years of Existence, 100 Years of Study

Predicting use of habitat patches by spawning horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) along a complex coastline with field surveys and geospatial analyses

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