Abstract
The 1977 peak population of spawning horsehoe crabs,Limulus polyphemus, in Delaware Bay, was comprised of about 222,000 males and 51,000 females. This estimate, based upon a shoreline survey of spawning intensity along Delaware and New Jersey beaches at the time of full moon tides in June, was corroborated by a quantification of egg clusters in a beach. Fecundity of gravid females was used, in conjunction with the egg cluster estimate, to approximate the number of females responsible for the observed quantity of eggs. The present spawning population of Delaware Bay is several fold larger than that which existed during the 1960’s. From a longer historical perspective, however, the population is far from approaching the numbers and spawning intensity reported a century ago.
Similar content being viewed by others
Literature Cited
Bang, F. B. 1979a. Finale, p. 677–680.In E. Cohen (ed.), Biomedical Applications of the Horseshoe Crab (Limulidae). Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York.
Bang, F. B. 1979b. Ontogeny and phylogeny of response to gram-negative endotoxins among the marine invertebrtes, p. 109–123,In E. Cohen (ed.), Biomedical Applications of the Horseshoe Crab (Limulidae) Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York.
Baptist, J. P., O. R. Smith, and J. W. Ropes. 1957. Migrations of the horseshoe crab,Limulus polyphemus, in Plum Island Sound, Massachusetts. U.S. Fish. Wildl. Serv. Sp. Sci. Rep.—Fish. 220.
Botton, M. L. 1982. Predation by adult horseshoe crabsLimulus polyphemus (L.), and its effect on benthic intertidal community structure of breeding beaches in Delaware Bay, New Jersey. Ph.D. Thesis, Rutgers University, New Brunswick. 466 p.
Botton, M. L. 1984. Effects of laughing gull and shorebird predation on the intertidal fauna at Cape May, New Jersey.Estuarine Coastal Shelf Sci. 18: 209–220.
Botton, M. L., andH. H. Haskin 1984. Distribution and feeding of the horseshoe crab,Limulus polyphemus, on the continental shelf off New Jersey.Fish. Bull. 82:383–389.
Cohen, E. (Ed.). 1979. Biomedical Applications of the Horseshoe Crab (Limulidae). Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York. 688 p.
Cohen, J. A., andH. J. Brockmann. 1983. Breeding activity and mate selection in the horseshoe crabLimulus polyphemus.Bull. Mar. Sci. 33:274–281.
Fowler, H. W. 1908. The king crab fisheries in Delaware Bay, p. 111–119 + 4 pl.In Ann. Rep. N. J. State Museum, 1907.
Kaplan, E., R. B. Barlow, Jr.S. C. Chamberlin, andD. J. Steizner. 1976. Mechanoreceptors on the dorsal surface ofLimulus.Brain Res. 109:615–622.
McHugh, J. L. 1977. Fisheries and fishery resources of New York Bight. NOAA Tech. Rep. NMFS Circ. 401.
Nishii, H. (Ed.). 1975. A Monograph on the Horseshoe Crab (in Japanese). 221 p. Published by Dr. Nishii, Educational Committee Kasaoka City. Okayama Prefecture 714 Japan.
Pearson, F. C., andM. Weary. 1980. TheLimulus amoebocyte lysate test for endotoxin.BioScience 30: 461–464.
Riska, B. 1981. Morphological variation in the horseshoe crabLimulus polyphemus.Evolution 35: 647–658.
Ropes, J. W. 1961. Longevity of the horseshoe crab,Limulus polyphemus L.Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 90: 79–80.
Ropes, J. W., C. N. Shuster, Jr.,L. O’brien, andR. Mayo. 1982. Data on the occurrence of horseshoe crabs,Limulus polyphemus (L.), in NMFS-NEFC survey samples. Woods Hole Laboratory Reference Document no. 82–23:1–40.
Rudloe, A. 1982. The breeding behavior and patterns of movement of horseshoe crab,Limulus polyphemus, in the vicinity of breeding beaches in Apalachee Bay, Florida.Estuaries 3:177–183.
Rudloe, A. 1983. The effect of heavy bleeding on mortality of the horseshoe crab,Limulus polyphemus, in the natural environment.J. Invest. Pathol. 42:167–176.
Rudloe, A., andJ. Rudloe. 1981. The changeless horseshoe crab.Natl. Geogr. 159:562–572.
Shuster, C. N. 1948. Decimalization of English measures and computation with approximate data.Yearbk. Natl. Counc. Teach. Math. 20:233–259.
Shuster, C. N., Jr. 1950. Observations on the natural history of the American horseshoe crab,Limulus polyphemus.Woods Hole Oceanogr. Inst. Contr. 564:18–23.
Shuster, C. N., Jr. 1958a. On morphometric and serological relationships within the Limulidae, with particular reference toLimulus polyphemus (L.).Diss. Abstr. 8:371–372.
Shuster, C. N., Jr. 1958b. “Study these”—the story of the horseshoe crab. Staff Reporter, Wilmington Public Schools, Delaware, 10:4–5.
Shuster, C. N., Jr. 1959. Biological evaluation of the Delaware River estuary, XXII-73 p.In State of Delaware Intrastate Water Resource Survey.
Shuster, C. N., Jr. 1960. Horseshoe “crabs”— in former years, during the month of May these animals dominated Delaware Bay shores.Estuarine Bull. 5:1–9.
Shuster, C. N., Jr. 1979. Distribution of the American horseshoe “crab”,Limulus polyphemus (L.), p. 3–26.In E. Cohen (ed.), Biomedical Applications of the Horseshoe Crab (Limulidae). Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York.
Shuster, C. N., Jr. 1982. A pictorial review of the natural history and ecology of the horseshoe crabLimulus polyphemus, with reference to other Limulidae, p. 1–52.In J. Bonaventura, C. Bonaventura and S. Tesh (eds.), Physiology and Biology of Horseshoe Crabs. Alan R. Liss, Inc., New York.
Wander, W., andP. Dunne. 1981. Species and numbers of shorebirds on the Delaware bayshore of New Jersey, spring 1981. N. J. Audubon Soc. Occas. Paper 140, Records of N. J. Birds 7:59–64.
Waterman, T. H., andD. F. Travis. 1953. Respiratory reflexes and the flabellum ofLimulus.J. Cell. Comp. Physiol. 42:261–290.
Wolff, T. 1977. The horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) in north European waters.Vidensk. Medd. Dan. Naturhist. Foren. 140:39–52.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Contribution No. 1259, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point Virginia 23062.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shuster, C.N., Botton, M.L. A contribution to the population biology of horseshoe crabs,Limulus polyphemus (L.), in Delaware Bay. Estuaries 8, 363–372 (1985). https://doi.org/10.2307/1351874
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1351874