June 5, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/nyregion/red-knots-horseshoe-crabs-and-fight-to-survive-in-delaware-bay.html?_r=3&
Summary:
Every
Spring, red knots migrate more than 9000 miles from the southern tip of South
America to Northern Canada, just in time for the spawning of green horseshoe
crab eggs. However, due to the overfishing the crabs, the red knot population
has dropped drastically from 100,000 in the 1980s to around 30,000 today,
causing wildlife biologists to worry that the red knots could vanish. Thus, New
Jersey has made horseshoe crab harvesting illegal and listed the red knots as
endangered.
But,
the main problem is that the crabs travel as far south as Maryland and
Virginia, which haven’t been able to pass laws completely protecting the crabs. Both
states have fishing limits, but they are not enough for the horseshoe crab population
to rebound. Also, completely banning horseshoe crab harvesting would prevent
pharmaceutical companies from using the crabs’ copper-rich blood to test
medicines and devices for possible contamination. The companies later release
the crabs, but many of them die. Therefore, the Atlantic States Marine
Fisheries Commission monitors the use of crabs and has recently proposed a
complex formula to restrict the amount of crabs harvested. However, many
experts believe that stricter regulations are needed.
Relevance:
This
article connects with our unit on ecology in that changes in one trophic level
or population (in this case, the crabs) can affect countless other trophic levels and populations (the red knots) within
the ecosystem, reinforcing the fact all life is connected. In the near future,
if the crab population is not protected, the red knots could become extinct,
destabilizing the ecosystem.
Are there any effects indirectly caused by decreasing Red Knot and crab populations? For example, is the removal of a keystone species such as the Red Knot affecting other ecosystems such as those on its breeding and wintering grounds?
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