Education and Research about Horseshoe Crabs in Long Island Sound

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1 Education and Research about Horseshoe Crabs in Long Island Sound Jennifer Mattei & Mark Beekey Department of Biology Sacred Heart University Fairfield, Connecticut USA

2 Community research project that utilizes volunteers to help gather data on horseshoe crabs in Long Island Sound involving people living in the surrounding states.

3 Uses easy, simple methods for participation on local neighborhood beaches. 1. Beach Walkers 2. Beach Taggers 3. Beach Counters

4 People volunteer their time to help prevent species decline by gathering needed baseline data. Volunteers feel a sense of ownership and can see they are contributing in a meaningful way.

5 Each volunteer gathers data from one or two particular beaches and notes the level of spawning activity over the course of a falling tide. Survey adult horseshoe crabs to determine density of animals on spawning beaches. Report where juveniles or molts are found to determine important nursery areas. A. Understand basic population ecology B. Understand links to other species C. Develop a management strategy e.g. establish spawning beaches where harvesting is prohibited and establish marsh sanctuaries where juveniles are found.

6 People need to understand the commercial and ecological importance of horseshoe crabs. Their health depends on the health of the horseshoe crab population. The important ecological links to the ecosystem horseshoe crabs have. What is lost as the species decline.

7 Green Eggs and Sand (DE, NJ) Cornell University s Ornithology Lab Tree project in New England BioBlitz Photo: Larry Deemer

Sent formal letters and emails out to local offices of national conservation groups (e.g. The Nature Conservancy, National Audubon).

8 Sent formal letters and s out to local offices of national conservation groups (e.g. The Nature Conservancy, National Audubon). Sent letters out to local Nature Centers, Aquariums, Natural History Museums. Visit Schools, recruit teachers that want hands on science projects. Be available for many talks, beach walks, out reach programs (60 presentations over 10 years) Post signs on beaches about tagging/conservation program.

9 Reach out to the media, local newspapers, larger regional newspapers, radio programs, TV local news broadcasts, magazine articles. Norwalk, CT Locals help Project Limulus' efforts to tag horseshoe crabs Posted on 06/10/2009

10 Tallying the Toll on an Elder of the Sea Serge Bloch By NATALIE ANGIER Published: June 10, 2008 MILFORD, Conn. Horseshoe crabs may look ancient and alien

11 Posted on Wired.com, GeekMom.com and GeekDad.com

13 2000

14 2001

15 2002

16 2003

17 2004

18 2005

19 2006

20 2007

21 2008

22 2009

23 2010

24 Tagged Recaptured

25 Tagged crabs SHU Volunteers

26 City Westerly RI Groton Guilford New Haven Milford Norwalk Stonington Fairfield Greenwich Time # Tagged # Recap % Recap 30% 19% 23% 22% 14% 13% 18% 8% 19%

27 Data from selected cities Fairfield Norwalk Milford New Haven Stonington Greenwich

28 Westerly (RI) Pawcatuck Stonington Mystic Noank Fishers Island Groton New London Waterford Niantic East Haddam Old Lyme Old Saybrook Westbrook Clinton Madison Guilford Branford New Haven Milford Stratford Bridgeport Fairfield Southport Westport Norwalk Darien Rowayton Stamford Riverside Greenwich Rye (NY) Riverhead (NY % recaptures New Haven Milford Fairfield Norwalk 50 0 Cities

29 Westerly (RI) Pawcatuck Stonington Mystic Noank Fishers Island Groton New London Waterford Niantic East Haddam Old Lyme Old Saybrook Westbrook Clinton Madison Guilford Branford New Haven Milford Stratford Bridgeport Fairfield Southport Westport Norwalk Darien Rowayton Stamford Riverside Greenwich Rye (NY) Riverhead (NY % recaptured 100 RI CT NY 50 Stonington Greenwich 0

30 Milford, CT <200 (1225) and >200 (532) days

31 New Haven, CT <200 (726) and >200 (218) days

32 Percentage of recaptures females <30 days > 200 days males 0.0 Distance (km)

2008 2009 2010 Milford Point (CT) 0.002 ± 0.

058 ± 0.014 (9) 0.003 ± 0.001 (19) 0.051 ± 0.020 (9) 0.005 ± NA 0.007 ± 0.004 NA 0.02 ± 0.

33 Milford Point (CT) ± (11) Sandy Point (CT) Buzzards Bay (MA) Monomoy Bay (MA) Lone Tree Point (RI) ± (9) ± (19) ± (9) ± NA ± NA 0.02 ± ± NA ± (4) ± (5) ± (17) ± (9) NA Delaware Bay 0.80 ± ± ±0.06

Mattei JH, MA Beekey, A Woronik, H Potter, C Bond, K Smith. July 2011. Estimation of shortterm tag mortality in the American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus.

34 Mattei JH, MA Beekey, A Woronik, H Potter, C Bond, K Smith. July Estimation of shortterm tag mortality in the American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society. Mattei, J.H., M.A. Beekey, A. Rudmann, A. Woronik. (2010). Reproductive behavior in horseshoe crabs: does density matter? Current Zoology 56(5):

Talk to local people Local Knowledge is important for Global Wisdom.

35 Start at local beaches where people may see horseshoe crabs spawning and meet the scientist. Talk to local people Local Knowledge is important for Global Wisdom. Try to meet with all stakeholders, do not attempt to close the fishery just gather information to better manage it.

36 Public Image:

37 Importance in the public eye: From the Sunday Morning Post: Hong Kong: One foot in China, one in the world woes most on the minds of the people in Hong Kong: Runaway home prices Soaring commercial rentals The widening wealth gap. The inadequacy of services for the elderly The decline of governance standards. Not on the list: The decline of the Asian horseshoe crab populations?

38 UDE The wide distribution of the Asian species across may countries and cultures.

Home Earth Continents Asia Map of South-East Asia Map Index Map of Southeast Asia Region Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia, roughly be described as geographically situated east of east of the

39 Home Earth Continents Asia Map of South-East Asia Map Index Map of Southeast Asia Region Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia, roughly be described as geographically situated east of east of the Indian subcontinent, south of China and north of Australia, between the Indian Ocean (in west) and the Pacific Ocean (in east). It consists of two distinctive different geographic regions, one is mainland Southeast Asia, also known as Indochina, on the Indochinese peninsula; it comprises the countries of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam and West Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia), the other is the Malay Archipelago, or Maritime Southeast Asia, which comprises the countries of: Brunei (on the island of Borneo), East Malaysia (with the Malayan states of Sabah and Sarawak on the northern part of Borneo), all the islands of Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Timor-Leste (East Timor). Southeast Asia together with the Indian subcontinent and lowland southern China forms the Indomalaya ecozone, one of the eight great ecozones that cover the Earth's land surface. Clickable map of countries in Southeast Asia. Click on the map to get to the respective country information page, or use the links below. Country maps will be found at the respective country pages. O n e W o r l d - N a t i o n s O n l i n e Regions in South-East Asia c o u n t r i e s o f t h e w o r l d To coordinate Activities Standardize Research Protocols Thus, allowing results to be compared across countries. Countries and regions on the fringe of Southeast Asia: Bhutan, Hong Kong, Indian States and Union Territories, Macau, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tibet You are free to use this map for educational purposes, please refer to the Nations Online Project.

For each country we should list who is engaged in which public outreach program, What can be done to enhance those programs Which non-profit groups can help and where e.g. Ocean Park Conservation Fund, World Wildlife Fund, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, others?

40 For each country we should list who is engaged in which public outreach program, What can be done to enhance those programs Which non-profit groups can help and where e.g. Ocean Park Conservation Fund, World Wildlife Fund, Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund, The Nature Conservancy, others? Baby Asian horseshoe crabs released into the wild STAFF WRITER, WITH CAN April 26, 2008 Taiwan Schoolchildren in Kinmen County inspect adult horseshoe crabs at an educational event organized by the Kinmen Aquaculture Research Institute yesterday. PHOTO: CNA

For each region assign a lead person (at a University or

The database can be made public on a website and therefore

Project Horseshoe Crab Project Horseshoe Crab Project

41 For each region assign a lead person (at a University or non-profit organization) to compile and house the data? The database can be made public on a website and therefore available to the various stakeholders. Project Horseshoe Crab Project Horseshoe Crab Project Horseshoe Crab Project Horseshoe Crab Project Horseshoe Crab Project Horseshoe Crab Project Horseshoe Crab

42 The Planning Committee of the International Workshop on the Science and Conservation of Asian Horseshoe Crabs. Undergraduate Assistants: Jo-Marie Kasinak, Luke Bernacki Chris Bond, Henry Potter, Clare Ryan, Alyssa Woronik, Sonny Bandak, Adam Rudman, Emmalee Eng

43 Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History

Monsoon Asia TCI5 561 GA_LM_07-1.eps Second Proof

Monsoon Asia TCI5 561 GA_LM_07-1.eps Second Proof Monsoon Asia Preview Making a Mental Map of the Region Look at the outline map of Monsoon Asia on the opposite page. Add a compass rose to the map, showing where north, south, east, and west are. Then