The American Horseshoe Crab

by Carl N. Shuster Jr., H. Jane Brockmann, Robert B. Barlow

Overview

The American horseshoe crab that comes ashore on the East Coast in vast numbers to mate and nest is much the same creature that haunted the coast before the time of the dinosaurs. It is among the world's most intensely studied marine invertebrates, critical to our understanding of many groups of organisms, both modern and extinct, and crucial to the ecology of large estuaries such as the Delaware Bay. Some stocks of this great survivor, whose ancestors made it through the mass extinction some 286 million years ago, have been severely depleted today because of overfishing and habitat destruction.

Carl N. Shuster, Jr., H. Jane Brockmann, and Robert B. Barlow are at the forefront of research on Limulus polyphemus, and in this book they bring together twenty scientists who have worked on all aspects of horseshoe crab biology to compile the first fully detailed, comprehensive view of the species. An indispensable resource, the volume describes the horseshoe crab's behavior, natural history, and ecology; its anatomy, physiology, distribution, development, and life cycle; the puzzle of its immune system; and its present management and future conservation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674011595
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	03/15/2004
Pages:	472
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Carl N. Shuster, Jr., is Adjunct Professor of Marine Science, College of William and Mary.

H. Jane Brockmann is Professor of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville.

Robert B. Barlow is Professor of Ophthalmology at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

Table of Contents

Preface


Prologue
Robert B. Barlow

1. Synchronies in Migration: Shorebirds, Horseshoe Crabs, and Delaware Bay
Mark L. Botton and Brian A. Harrington, with Nellie Tsipoura and David Mizrahi


Research Note 1.1 Physiological Ecology of Shorebirds during Migration through the Delaware Bay Area


Research Note 1.2 The Importance of Weather Systems and Energy Reserves to Migrating Semipalmated Sandpipers

2. Nesting Behavior: A Shoreline Phenomenon
H. Jane Brockmann


Exhibit 2.1 Questions about Behavior


Exhibit 2.2 Decision Making in Animals


Exhibit 2.3 Studying Behavioral Adaptations

3. Male Competition and Satellite Behavior
H. Jane Brockmann


Exhibit 3.1 Language and Explanation in Behavior


Exhibit 3.2 The Process of Fertilization


Exhibit 3.3 Paternity Analysis in Horseshoe Crabs

4. Seeing at Night and Finding Mates: The Role of Vision
Robert B. Barlow and Maureen K. Powers

5. Growing Up Takes about Ten Years and Eighteen Stages
Carl N. Shuster, Jr., and Koichi Sekiguchi


Exhibit 5.1 Paths Taken: How the Authors Got Started

6. Horseshoe Crabs in a Food Web: Who Eats Whom?
Mark L. Botton and Carl N. Shuster, Jr., with John A. Keinath


Research Note 6.1 Predation of Horseshoe Crabs by Loggerhead Sea Turtles

7. A History of Skeletal Structure: Clues to Relationships among Species
Carl N. Shuster, Jr., and Lyall I. Anderson


Exhibit 7.1 Horseshoe Crab Look-Alikes


Exhibit 7.2 What AreHorseshoe Crabs?

8. Throughout Geologic Time: Where Have They Lived?
Lyall I. Anderson and Carl N. Shuster, Jr.

9. Coping with Environmental Changes: Physiological Challenges
David W. Towle and Raymond P. Henry


Exhibit 9.1 Cell Volume Regulation or Blood Ion Regulation?


Exhibit 9.2 Epithelial Cell Structure and Function


Exhibit 9.3 Hemocyanin, the Oxygen-Carrying Protein


Exhibit 9.4 Glossary of Terms

10. Diseases and Symbionts: Vulnerability Despite Tough Shells
Louis Leibovitz and Gregory A. Lewbart


Exhibit 10.1 Dr. Louis Leibovitz


Exhibit 10.2 How to Study a Disease


Exhibit 10.3 Pathological and Biological Terminology


Exhibit 10.4 A Key to the Identification of Diseases of Limulus


Exhibit 10.5 Maintaining Limulus in Captivity

11. A Blue Blood: The Circulatory System
Carl N. Shuster, Jr.

12. Internal Defense against Pathogenic Invasion: The Immune System
Peter B. Armstrong


Exhibit 12.1 Glossary

13. Clotting Cells and Limulus Amebocyte Lysate: An Amazing Analytical Tool
Jack Levin, H. Donald Hochstein, and Thomas J. Novitsky

14. King Crab Fertilizer: A Once-Thriving Delaware Bay Industry
Carl N. Shuster, Jr.

15. Horseshoe Crab Conservation: A Coast-Wide Management Plan
Carl N. Shuster, Jr., Mark L. Botton, and Robert E. Loveland

Authors and Contributors


References


Acknowledgments


Index

Editorial Reviews

Overall, The American Horseshoe Crab is a fine compendium of information, one I will refer to frequently. The volume also provides an essential tool for anyone involved with developing the regulations that will be required to protect this intriguing species in perpetuity.

Science - Mark S. Garland

[This] has to be the most thorough book on this amazing creature ever written or ever likely to be written. It is a compilation of essays by some of the crab's foremost researchers...It would be a sad loss if this book were destined merely for reference shelves and university libraries. Each section has its entry point for the novice, its tidbit of fascinating information, ripe for mining by anyone with an inquisitive mind.

Philadelphia Inquirer - Sandy Bauers

Look inside The American Horseshoe Crab and you'll find everything you ever wanted to know about these living trilobite lookalikes from their much filmed shoreline mating to their historic use as fertiliser. This wonderfully illustrated and detailed compendium of information about the horseshoe or king crab is a must for anyone interested in marine arthropods both fossil and living.

New Scientist - Douglas Palmer

This book is a superbly produced synthesis of modern knowledge, in 15 chapters written by 20 experts. It is fully illustrated, with 33 colour plates and many line drawings, and there is an extensive bibliography...This scholarly text is essential for all serious students of arthropods. And it is eminently readable, too.

BBC Wildlife - Euan N. K. Clarkson

This book is a superbly produced synthesis of modern knowledge, in 15 chapters written by 20 experts. It is fully illustrated, with 33 colour plates and many line drawings, and there is an extensive bibliography...This scholarly text is essential for all serious students of arthropods. And it is eminently readable, too.
— Euan N. K. Clarkson

BBC Wildlife

Look inside The American Horseshoe Crab and you'll find everything you ever wanted to know about these living trilobite lookalikes from their much filmed shoreline mating to their historic use as fertiliser. This wonderfully illustrated and detailed compendium of information about the horseshoe or king crab is a must for anyone interested in marine arthropods both fossil and living.
— Douglas Palmer

New Scientist

[This] has to be the most thorough book on this amazing creature ever written or ever likely to be written. It is a compilation of essays by some of the crab's foremost researchers...It would be a sad loss if this book were destined merely for reference shelves and university libraries. Each section has its entry point for the novice, its tidbit of fascinating information, ripe for mining by anyone with an inquisitive mind.
— Sandy Bauers

Philadelphia Inquirer

Overall, The American Horseshoe Crab is a fine compendium of information, one I will refer to frequently. The volume also provides an essential tool for anyone involved with developing the regulations that will be required to protect this intriguing species in perpetuity.
— Mark S. Garland

Science