11/29/18

Lonza’s Global Subject Matter Expert for Endotoxin Detection Appointed Chair of ASMFC Horseshoe Crab Advisory Panel

Maryland: Lonza announced the appointment of Allen Burgenson, Global Subject Matter Expert for Endotoxin Detection at Lonza, as Chair of the Horseshoe Crab Advisory Panel of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Burgenson was elected by his peers to this esteemed position on 26 September 2018 in recognition of more than 35 years of experience in the biomedical use of horseshoe crabs. download the pdf.

10/02/18

Horseshoe Crab Spawning Activity After Beach Nourishment

New York: Beach nourishment is a common shoreline protection method where sediment that has been eroded is replaced, typically using sediment dredged from offshore. To test its efficacy, a team of researchers led by Dr. Mark Botton from Fordham University investigated how beach nourishment projects affect horseshoe crab spawning. The study was conducted at Plumb Beach near the mouth of Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn, New York. This site provided a good study location because it has a history of beach nourishment projects. download the pdf.

07/10/18

Bird Flu Hot Spot: Scientists Track Virus in Huge Migration

New Jersey: Huge flocks of famished birds scour the sands of Delaware Bay for the tiny greenish eggs an army of horseshoe crabs lays every spring. It’s a marvel of ecology as shorebirds migrating from South America to the Arctic time a stop critical to their survival to this mass crab spawning. It’s also one of the world’s hot spots for bird flu a bonanza for scientists seeking clues about how influenza evolves so they just might better protect people. download the pdf.

07/03/18

Call for Papers

New York: A new volume of research and considerations in the global efforts to conserve and protect globally the four species of Horseshoe Crabs. Springer, LLC, has approved this book for the inclusion of papers, presentations, workshops and other relevant Horseshoe Crab manuscripts and PowerPoints that may not have been formally published after the conferences held in Sasebo, Japan, Bangkok, Thailand and the Providence, RI CERF Conference. download the pdf.

06/30/18

Humans Monitor Falling Horseshoe Crab Numbers

Connecticut: In the dark of the new moon, people gathered at Calf Pasture Beach. They were equipped with headlamps, waders, buckets and bug spray, and they were there to solve a mystery: Whatʼs happening to Long Island Soundʼs horseshoe crabs? download the pdf.

05/17/18

DNREC’s DuPont Nature Center to host Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival on May 19, 2018

Delaware: The DuPont Nature Center at Mispillion Harbor Reserve, a DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife facility, will host its ninth annual Peace, Love & Horseshoe Crab Festival, celebrating the spring arrival of spawning horseshoe crabs and migrating shorebirds, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, May 19 at the center, located at 2992 Lighthouse Road, east of Milford, DE 19963, near Slaughter Beach. Admission is free. The festival will be held rain or shine, except in the case of severe weather or flooding. download the pdf.

05/17/18

Scientists Want Us To Keep Watch for Horseshoe Crabs on Florida’s West Coast

Florida: The shortage of Florida-specific data for trends analysis is why the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission is leading horseshoe crab nesting surveys. download the pdf.

01/25/18

People Pay $112 Million A Year For Horseshoe Crab Blood. A Company Wants Georgia’s Coast In On It.

Georgia: A biotech company is eyeing Jekyll Island as a testing ground for its foray into horseshoe crab ranching. download the pdf.

12/15/18

Horseshoe Crabs Living Through A Crisis

Global: In a new study (Shu et al. 2018), we were able to record horseshoe crab tracks from a succession of rocks that spanned the great Permian-Triassic (PT) mass extinction 252 million years ago. Limulids (of course) survived, but we had questions to ask about whether the devastating environmental changes associated with the mass extinction had in any way knocked them sideways. download the pdf.

12/15/18

Those Unique Living Fossils

India: While many species have evolved to adapt to the changing environment there are others that have never felt the need to do so… download the pdf.

09/26/18

New Species of Horseshoe Crab Discovered Along Odisha Coast

India: A new horseshoe crab species has been found along the Odisha coast. Marine biologist of National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa Sumedha Chinnari recently discovered the new species from a creek near Bay of Bengal in the State. download the pdf.

05/10/18

Commission Approves Modern Animal-Free Testing for Drugs

India: In a step that would spare animals from suffering due to drug experiments, the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission has approved modern, animal-free tests for drug manufacturers. In the 2018 edition of Indian Pharmacopoeia, that provides guidelines on tests for drugs manufactured and marketed in India, the IPC has replaced the pyrogen test carried out on rabbits and the abnormal toxicity test carried out on guinea pigs and mice with tests that can be done in test tubes. download the pdf.

02/26/18

Kinmen Reopens Jiangong Islet to Public

Taiwan: Large numbers of tourists have visited Jiangong Islet in Kinmen County since it was recently re-opened to the public, and its rich ecosystem amazes visitors as they walk the stone path in the islet’s intertidal zone. download the pdf.

02/23/18

New Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation Joins FIU

China: Florida International University Pew Marine Fellow Wuying Lin plans to advance conservation policies to disrupt the illicit trade of marine wildlife in South China. download the pdf.

02/23/18

Digital Dissection: CT Scans Reveal New Muscles in Horseshoe Crabs

02/21/18

Horseshoe Crab Conservation along Chandipur Coast and Nearby Estuaries in Odisha

India: In an effort to facilitate nesting and to conserve a living fossil, the “Horseshoe Crab” along Chandipur Beach and nearby estuaries, the Association for Biodiversity Conservation (ABC) in partnership with the New Hope volunteers, organised an awareness “Come Cleaning” event along a five km stretch of beach on 15 March 2017. download the pdf.

01/26/18

How Horseshoe Crabs Helped Pen Pals

Taiwan: Students from Jinhu Junior High School on the outlying island county of Kinmen are excited about an upcoming visit from their French pen pals, whom they are determined to impress with local charm and horseshoe crabs. download the pdf.

12/14/18

Young Voices™ Horseshoe Crabs in the Arts 2018

Delaware: Our 2018 contest year received 310 entries from Mauritius, France, and the USA. Our judges selected 10 of the most compelling artworks from each grade level that entered. As always, the task was challenging, for all forms of personal expression are, by their very nature, an honest reflection of the heart within. Since the program’s inception in 1998, the Young Voices that give this program life has grown from a few hundred to many thousands around the world. We celebrate these young environmental stewards, whose compassion for the conservation of this remarkable species, expressed through art, has elevated and transformed our perception of this often-misunderstood marine. To see a complete list of this year’s selected artist. download the pdf.

12/14/18

The ‘Crab’ That Might Have Saved Your Life

Global: Whatever the future holds, the horseshoe crab is perhaps more adept than most species at seeing it through. “Everything it does has a purpose and that purpose is survival,” Glenn Gauvry said. “They’re quite adaptable to an awful lot of things. But we [man] move too fast, so, yeah, we end up being the big challenge.” download the pdf.

10/01/18

Horseshoe Crabs Are at Risk—So Endotoxin Tests Are, Too

With a growing focus on the development of innovative biotherapeutics that have a higher risk of endotoxin contamination and the advent of personalized medicine requiring individual drug testing, endotoxin testing workflows are becoming more important than ever. However, relying purely on the horseshoe crab to provide this crucial safety test simply isn’t sustainable. In this article, we consider why protection of the horseshoe crab is so important for our own health, and how the validation of alternative endotoxin testing approaches offers a more sustainable solution. download the pdf.

09/13/18

Delaware Mayor, Horseshoe Crab Expert Featured on the Award- Winning Podcast Radiolab

Delaware: Horseshoe crabs may not be much to look at, as Little Creek mayor and conservationist Glenn Gauvry noted in a recent episode of the award-winning podcast Radiolab ” Baby Blue Blood Drive.” download the pdf.

07/10/18

Volunteers’ Fence Saves Thousands of Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware: According to organizers, a scheme to close off a horseshoe crab “kill zone” on Pickering Beach has been a thumping success. In late April a partnership including DNREC, Pickering Beach residents and the Ecological Research & Development Group (ERDG) — a 501(c)3 non-profit organization focused on horseshoe crab conservation efforts — installed a 350-foot wooden temporary storm fence across a stretch of beach to prevent deadly horseshoe crab strandings. download the pdf.

06/30/18

Horseshoe Crab “Kill Zone” at Delaware Bay Beach Thwarted by Fencing

Delaware: The Ecological Research & Development Group Inc. (ERDG) worked last spring to eliminate a “kill zone” for horseshoe crabs at a Delaware Bay Beach. As spawning season winds down, the group says its effort was highly successful. download the pdf.

06/04/18

Count Shows Horseshoe Crab Spawning Season Near its Peak

Delaware: Armed with only a clipboard, 20-meter rope and a 1-meter polyvinyl square, three intrepid ladies set out to participate in what’s become one of the most successful citizen science projects in the country late Tuesday night — the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab spawning survey. download the pdf.

05/17/18

Inside the Biomedical Revolution to Save Horseshoe Crabs and the Shorebirds That Need Them

New Jersey: The horseshoe crab plays a vital, if little-known, role in the life of anyone who has received an injectable medication. An extract of the horseshoe crab’s blood is used by the pharmaceutical and medical-device industries to ensure that their products, e.g., intravenous drugs, vaccines, and medical devices, are free of bacterial contamination. No other test worked as easily or reliably for this purpose—until now. download the pdf.

05/11/18

4th Global Endotoxin Testing Summit

Maryland: The 4th Global Endotoxin Testing Summit will again bring together the community to explore the most pertinent topics of 2018. Presented by a panel of industry thought-leaders, this year’s summit offers a vivid platform to: download the pdf.

05/02/18

Group Aims to Halt Horseshoe Crab ‘Kill Zone’ at Pickering Beach

Delaware: In recent years, regulations have been tightened on these practices. The changes have resulted in more population stability, but there is more people can do to ease the plight of the 450 million-year-old species says Mr. Gauvry. On Thursday, a collaborative experimental project between ERDG, the Pickering Beach community and DNREC to build a storm fence across an identified “horseshoe crab kill zone” is one such effort. download the pdf.

04/28/18

March of the Horseshoe Crabs

Delaware: The horseshoe crab was walking the ocean floor long before the first T-Rex was hatched. In fact, this ungainly arthropod has survived half a billion years. And yet, one of the oldest living species on the planet doesn’t have a week dedicated to it on the Discovery Channel, or its own Facebook page (like Mary Lee, the great white shark). Dismissed by many as ugly and useless, this Rodney Dangerfield of sea creatures often “gets no respect.” download the pdf.

02/23/18

New ‘Living Fossil’ Program at Refuge Highlights Role of Species

Florida: The J.N. “Ding’ Darling National Wildlife Refuge is offering a new program on horseshoe crabs. One of the educational tools for the program that the refuge staff is excited to utilize is the model, developed by the Ecological Research & Development Group in Delaware. The world’s first museum-grade model of a female horseshoe crab, it shows the species’ exterior surfaces complete in detail. The top of the model separates from the bottom of it to reveal the internal organs – colored for easier identification – egg distribution and circulatory system, providing a view never before available. “It greatly enhances the program,” Wettstein said. “It has added so much to it.” The refuge was able to acquire the tool through a donation by a donor. download the pdf.

02/13/18

Annual Report of the IUCN Horseshoe Crab Species Specialist Group for 2017

Annual Report of the IUCN HSC SSG for 2017, along with an updated membership list. download the pdf.