Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Strategies to Conserve and Enhance Sandy Barrier Habitat for Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus polyphemus) on Developed Shorelines in Delaware Bay, United States

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs

Abstract

The ability to successfully manage estuarine shorelines requires balancing ecological function with societal demands. The sandy barriers of Delaware Bay provide important spawning habitat for horseshoe crabs but they are modified for shore protection. This chapter provides a review of the sandy shoreline resources within Delaware Bay; describes the spatial and temporal scales of processes that govern their dimensions, location, morphology, and sedimentary characteristics; compares management programs in the state of Delaware and New Jersey for managing sandy shorelines in the estuary; and provides examples of the status of developed sandy barriers where high levels of horseshoe crab spawning occur.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (1998) Interstate fishery management plan for horseshoe crab. Fishery Management Report No. 32. Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Avissar NG (2006) Modeling potential impacts of beach replenishment on horseshoe crab nesting habitat suitability. Coast Manage 34:427–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker AJ, González PM, Piersma T, Niles LJ, de Lima I, do Nascimento S, Atkinson PW, Clark NA, Minton CDT, Peck MK, Aarts G (2004) Rapid population decline in red knots: fitness consequences of decreased refueling rates and late arrival in Delaware Bay. Proc Roy Soc Lond B 271:875–882.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benoit J, Lefebvre C, Hellin D, Maund R (2004) Improving links between science and coastal management: results of a survey to assess state coastal management science and technology needs. Final Report. University of Massachusetts – Boston, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berksen J, Shuster CN (1999) The horseshoe crab: the battle for a true multiple-use resource. Fisheries 24:6–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernd-Cohen T, Gordon M (1999) State coastal program effectiveness in protecting natural beaches, dunes, bluffs, and rocky shores. Coast Manage 27:187–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boesch DF (2001) Science and integrated drainage basin coastal management – Chesapeake Bay and Mississippi Delta. In: von Bodungen B and Turner RK (eds) Science and Integrated Coastal Management. Dahlem Workshop Report 85. Dahlem University Press, Germany, pp.37–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Botton ML, Loveland R, Jacobsen T (1988) Beach erosion and geochemical factors: influence of spawning success of horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) in Delaware bay. Mar Biol 99:325–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Botton ML, Loveland R, Jacobsen T (1994) Site selection by migratory shorebirds in Delaware Bay, and its relationship to beach characteristics and abundance of horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs. Auk 111:605–616.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burger J, Niles L, Clark KE (1997) Importance of beach, mudflat and marsh habitats to migrant shorebirds on Delaware Bay. Biol Conserv 79:283–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burger JL, Jeitner C, Clark K, Niles LJ (2004) The effect of human activities on migrant shorebirds: successful adaptive management. Environ Conserv 31:283–288.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cicin-Sain B, Knecht R (1998) Integrated Coastal and Ocean Management: Concepts and Practices. Island Press, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark KE, Niles LJ, Burger J (1993) Abundance and distribution of migrant shorebirds in Delaware Bay. Condor 95:694–705.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalrymple R, Zaitlin B, Boyd R (1992) Estuarine facies models: conceptual basis and stratigraphic implications. J Sediment Petrol 62:1130–1146.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis BC (2003) Inventory, classification, and analysis of special management areas associated with U.S. coastal programs. Coast Manage 31:339–354.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delaware Estuary Program (1996) The Delaware estuary: discover its secrets: a management plan for the Delaware estuary. Partnership for the Delaware Estuary, Wilmington, DE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eubanks TL, Stoll JR, Kerlinger P (2000) Wildlife-Associated Recreation on the New Jersey Delaware Bayshore: The Economic Impact of Tourism Based on the Horseshoe Crab-Shorebird Migration in New Jersey. Report prepared for the NJ DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greene K (2002) Beach Nourishment: A Review of the Biological and Physical Impacts. ASMFC Habitat Management Series no. 7. Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Imperial M, Hennesey T (1996) An ecosystem-based approach to managing estuaries: an assessment of the National Estuary Program. Coast Manage 24:115–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson NL, Nordstrom KF, Smith DR (2002) Geomorphic-biotic interactions on sandy estuarine beaches. J Coastal Res SI36:414–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson NL, Smith DR, Nordstrom KF (2005a) Comparison of sediment characteristics on nourished and un-nourished estuarine beaches in Delaware Bay, New Jersey. Z Geomorphol 141:31–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson NL, Nordstrom KF, Smith DR (2005b) Influence of waves and horseshoe crab spawning on beach morphology and sediment characteristics on a sandy estuarine beach, Delaware Bay, New Jersey, USA. Sedimentology 52:1097–1108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson NL, Smith DR, Tiyarattanachi R, Nordstrom KF (2007) Use of a small beach nourishment project to enhance habitat suitability for horseshoe crabs. Geomorphology 89:172–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson NL, Smith DR, Nordstrom KF (2008) Physical and chemical changes in the foreshore of an estuarine beach: implications for viability and development of horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) eggs. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 355:209–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judd JR (1998) The case of missing scales: a commentary on Cox. Polit Geogr 17:29–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knebel JH, Fletcher CH, Kraft JC (1988) Late Wisconsian – Holocene paleogeography of Delaware Bay; a large coastal plain estuary. Mar Geol 83:115–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knecht RW, Cicin-Sain B, Fisk GW (1996) Perceptions of the performance of state coastal zone management programs in the United States. Coast Manage 24:141–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraft JC, Allen EA, Belknap DF, John CJ, Maurmeyer EM (1979) Processes and morphologic evolution of an estuarine and coastal barrier system. In: Leatherman SP (ed.) Barrier Islands. Academic Press, New York, pp.149–183.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lathrop RG, Allen M (2005) Mapping the critical horseshoe crab habitats of Delaware Bay. Rutgers University, Center for Remote Sensing and Data Analysis, New Brunswick, NJ.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis DA, Cooper JAG, Pilkey OH (2005) Fetch limited barrier islands of Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. Southeast Geol 44:1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Manion M, West RA, Unsworth RE (2000) Economic assessment of the Atlantic coast horseshoe crab fishery. Industrial Economics, Inc. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • May SK, Dolan R, Hayden BP (1983) Erosion of US shorelines. EOS 64(35):521–523.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (2006) Tide Tables 2006, East Coast of North and South America. Department of Commerce, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson LS, Weschler LF (1998) Institutional readiness for integrated watershed management: The case of the Maumee River. Soc Sci J 35:565–576.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nordstrom KF (1989) Erosion control strategies for bay and estuarine beaches. Coast Manage 17:25–35.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nordstrom KF (2005) Beach nourishment and coastal habitats: Research needs to improve compatibility. Restor Ecol 13:215–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nordstrom KF, Jackson NL (1992) Two-dimensional changes on sandy beaches in meso-tidal estuaries. Z Geomorphol 36:465–478.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nordstrom KF, Jackson NL, Smith DR, Weber RG (2006) Transport of horseshoe crab eggs by waves and swash on an estuarine beach: Implications for foraging shorebirds. Est Coast Shelf Sci 70:438–448.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Odell J, Mather ME, Muth RM (2005) A biosocial approach for analyzing environmental conflicts: a case study of horseshoe crab allocation. Bioscience 55:735–748.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olsen SB (2003) Frameworks and indicators for assessing progress in integrated coastal management initiatives. Ocean Coast Manage 46:347–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson CH, Bishop MJ (2005) Assessing the environmental impacts of beach nourishment. Bioscience 55:887–896.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith DR, Pooler PS, Loveland RE, Botton ML, Michels SE, Weber RG, Carter DB (2002) Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) reproductive activity on Delaware bay beaches: Interactions with beach characteristics. J Coast Res 18:730–740.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan JK (1994) Habitat status and trends in the Delaware estuary. Coast Manage 22:49–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thieler ER, Hammar-Klose ES (1999) National assessment of coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise: preliminary results for the US Atlantic coast. U.S.Geological Survey Open-File Report 99–593. Woods Hole, MA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turner RK, Lorenzoni I, Beaumont N, Bateman IJ, Langford IH, McDonald AL (1998) Coastal management for sustainable development: analyzing environmental and socio-economic changes on the UK coast. Geogr J 164:269–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walls EA, Berkson J, Smith SA (2002) The horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus: 200 million years of existence, 100 years of study. Rev Fish Sci 10:39–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This publication was supported by the National Sea Grant Program of the US Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under NOAA Grant No. R/CZM-2004-1 and R/F-2006-2. NJSG-08-685. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views of any of those organizations.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry and Environmental Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA

    Nancy L. Jackson

  2. Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901, USA

    Karl F. Nordstrom

Authors
  1. Nancy L. Jackson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Karl F. Nordstrom
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nancy L. Jackson .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Earth & Marine Sciences, Dowling College, Long Island, 11769-1999, USA

    John T. Tanacredi

  2. Dept. Natural Sciences, Fordham University, West 60th St. 113, New York, 10023, U.S.A.

    Mark L. Botton

  3. Leetown Science Center, Aquatic Ecology Lab., US Geological Survey, Leetown Rd. 11649, Kearneysville, 25430, U.S.A.

    David Smith

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Jackson, N.L., Nordstrom, K.F. (2009). Strategies to Conserve and Enhance Sandy Barrier Habitat for Horseshoe Crabs (Limulus polyphemus) on Developed Shorelines in Delaware Bay, United States. In: Tanacredi, J., Botton, M., Smith, D. (eds) Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-89959-6_25

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation