Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Basic Habitat Requirements of the Extant Species of Horseshoe Crabs (Limulacea)

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

Abstract

Because horseshoe crabs (Limulacea) are ecological generalists that exist in more-or-less discrete populations within a variety of habitats throughout their ranges, we cannot explore all the possibilities within this short chapter. We have concentrated, therefore, on the two major habitats that have supported large population of horseshoe crabs (the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, and Delaware Bay, USA) and the species with which we are most familiar (the Japanese horseshoe crab Tachypleus tridentatus and the American species Limulus polyphemus), including differences between the populations, their habitats, and their distribution, including how the last Great Ice Age probably affected that distribution.

In general, the attributes of prime habitats include quality and quantity of those habitats beneficial to the species throughout their life cycle: tidal streams and marshes; lengthy sandy beaches with low wave force; inshore, often intertidal shallow-water areas; a large food resource; a favorable hydroclimate; the deeper water region of the bay; and the immediate continental shelf. Because horseshoe crab behavior helps to identify the range of environmental parameters within which the crabs are more successful, we also considered the major life stages in their life cycle.

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

  • Anderson LI, Shuster CN Jr (2003). Throughout geologic time: where have they lived? In: Shuster CN Jr, Barlow RB, Brockman HJ (eds) The American Horseshoe Crab. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 189–223

    Google Scholar 

  • Belnap DF, Kraft JC (1977) Holocene relative sea-level changes and coastal stratigraphic units on the northeast lank of the Baltimore Canyon trough geosyncline. J Sed Petrol 47:61–629

    Google Scholar 

  • Biggs RB (1986) Geological history and setting. In: Goodrich DM (ed.) Delaware Bay: Issues, Resources, Status and Management. NOAA Estuary-of-the-Month Seminar Ser 2:17

    Google Scholar 

  • Botton ML, Loveland RE, Jacobsen TR (1988). Beach erosion and geochemical factors: influence on spawning success of horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) in Delaware Bay. Mar Biol 99:325–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Botton ML, Loveland RE, Jacobsen TR (1992) Overwintering by trilobite larvae of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus on a sandy beach of Delaware Bay (New Jersey, USA). Mar Ecol Prog Ser 88:289–292

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Botton ML, Loveland RE, Tiwari A (2003) Distribution, abundance, and survivorship of young-of-the-year in a commercially exploited population of horseshoe crabs Limulus polyphemus. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 265:175–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Botton ML, Harrington BA, Tsipoura N, Mizrahi DS (2003) Synchronies in migration: shorebirds, horseshoe crabs and Delaware Bay. In: Shuster CN, Barlow RB, Brockmann HJ (eds) The American Horseshoe Crab. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 5–32

    Google Scholar 

  • Botton ML, Shuster CN Jr, Sekiguchi K, Sugita H (1996) Amplexus and mating behavior of in the Japanese horseshoe crab, Tachypleus tridentatus. Zool Sci 13:151–159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brady JT, Schrading EP (1997) Habitat Suitability Models: Horseshoe crab (Spawning) Delaware Bay, New Jersey and Delaware (developed for the Cape May Villas and Reeds Beach Habitat Evaluation Procedures). Philadelphia Office, US Army Corps of Engineers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brockmann HJ (2003) Nesting behavior: a shoreline phenomenon In: Shuster CN Jr, Barlow RB, Brockmann HJ (eds) The American Horseshoe Crab. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, pp 33–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Brockmann HJ, Smith MD (2009) Reproductive competition and sexual selection in horseshoe crabs. In: Tanacredi JT, Botton ML, Smith DR (eds) Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs. Springer, New York, pp 191–221

    Google Scholar 

  • Bryant TL, Pennock JR (1988) The Delaware Estuary: Rediscovering a Forgotten Resource. University of Delaware Grant College Program, Newark, Delaware.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chatterji A (1994) The Horseshoe Crab. A Living Fossil. Orissa, India: Project Swarajya Publication

    Google Scholar 

  • Daiber FC, Roman CT (1988) Tidal marshes. In: Bryant TL, Pennock JR (eds) The Delaware Estuary: Rediscovering a Forgotten Resource. University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program, Newark, Delaware, pp 94–113

    Google Scholar 

  • Eldredge, N (1991) Fossils, The Evolution and Extinction of Species. Harry V. Abrams, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Emery KO, Schupi E (1972) Western North Atlantic Ocean: topography, rocks, structure, water, life and sediments Tulsa, Oklahoma: Am Assoc Pet Geol Mem 17

    Google Scholar 

  • Goto S, Hattori O (1929) Notes on the spawning habits and growth stages of the Japanese king crab. Xe Cong Int Zool 2:1147–1155

    Google Scholar 

  • Hedgpeth JW (1957) Classification of marine environments. In: Hedgpeth JW (ed) Treatise on Marine Ecology and Paleoecology. Vol 1: Ecology. Geol Soc Am Mem 67(1), pp 17–28

    Google Scholar 

  • Ichiro I, Kuninao T, Yanagi T, Toda T (2008)_Environmental Conservation of the Seto Inland Sea. International EMECS Center, Japan

    Google Scholar 

  • Itow T (1993) Crisis in the Seto Inland Sea: the decimation of the horseshoe crab. EMECS Newslett 3:10–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Itow T, Sugita H, Sekiguchi K (1991) A phenomenal decrease of the horseshoe crab in the Inland Sea of Japan and its causes. Bull Dept Manage Information Sci Jobu Univ 4:29–46 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalber FA Jr (1959) Hypothesis on tidemarsh productivity. In: Shuster CN Jr (ed) Biological evaluation of the Delaware River estuary. State of Delaware, Intrastate Water Resources Survey, pp 21–71

    Google Scholar 

  • Kawahara D (1982) Investigations on ecology of horseshoe crab larvae. Aquabiology 4:380–382 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • King, TL, Eackles MS, Spidle AP, Brockmann HJ (2005) Regional differentiation and sex biased dispersal among populations of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus. Trans Am Fish Soc 134: 441–465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraft JC (1988) Geology. In: Bryant TL, Pennock JR (eds) The Delaware Estuary: Rediscovering a Forgotten Resource. University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program, Newark, Delaware, pp 30–41

    Google Scholar 

  • Loveland RE, Botton ML, Shuster CN Jr (1997) Life history of the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus L.) in Delaware Bay and it importance in a commercial resource. In: Farrell J, Martin C (eds) Proceedings of the Horseshoe Crab Forum: Status of the Resource. University of Delaware Sea Grant Program, Lewes, DE, publ DEL-SG-05-97, pp15–22

    Google Scholar 

  • National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, DOI (2001) 50 CFR Part 697, Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act Provisions; Horseshoe Crab Fishery; Closed Area. Fed Regist 66(23):8906–8911

    Google Scholar 

  • Nishii H (1975) Kabutogani-Jiten (Encyclopedia of the horseshoe crabs). Add Ref Ed: 221 pp. Private Publ, Kasaoka (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Oka H (1937) Recherches sur l’embryologie causale du Limule I. J Fac Sci Tokyo Imp Univ 3:285–287

    Google Scholar 

  • Ôwatari C (1913) Note on habits of king crabs (Limulus longispina). Zool Mag Tokyo 25:41–415 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ôwatari C (1922) Habitats of king crabs. Rept Surv Hist Nat Monum Okayama Prefect, Part 2: 43–45 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Pollack LW, Hummon WD (1971) Cyclic changes in interstitial water content, atmospheric exposure, and temperature in a marine beach. Limnol Oceanogr 16:522–535

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sekiguchi K (1988) Horseshoe crabs of the Japanese coast. In: Sekiguchi K (ed). Biology of Horseshoe Crabs. Science House, Tokyo, pp 39–45

    Google Scholar 

  • Sekiguchi K (1989) The Existing State of the Horseshoe Crab in Japan. Japanese Society for the Preservation of Horseshoe Crabs, Kasaoka (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sekiguchi K (1993) The Existing State of the Horseshoe Crab in Japan. Japanese Society for the Preservation of Horseshoe Crabs, Kasaoka (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Sekiguchi K, Shuster CN Jr (2008) Limits on the global distribution of horseshoe crabs (Limulacea): Lessons learned from two lifetimes of observations: Asia and America. In: Tanacredi JT, Botton ML, Smith DR (eds) Biology and Conservation of Horseshoe Crabs. Springer, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharp JH (1988) Dynamics. In: Bryant TL, Pennock JR (eds) The Delaware Estuary: Rediscovering a Forgotten Resource. University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program, Newark, Delaware, pp 43–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuster CN Jr (1950) Observations on the natural history of the American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus. Woods Hole Oceanogr Inst Contrib 564:18–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuster CN Jr (1959) Biological evaluation of the Delaware River estuary. In: Kaplovsky J, Simpson CO (eds) State of Delaware, Intrastate Water Resources Survey. William N. Cann, Wilmington, DE 21:1–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuster CN Jr (1960a) Hydroclimate on the Bar Grounds. Estuarine Bull (Univ Delaware Marine Labs) 5(1): 7–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuster CNJ r (1960b). Oysters in Delaware waters: Their records – historic and geologic. Estuarine Bull (Univ Delaware Marine Labs) 5(3): 1–15

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuster CN Jr (1979) Distribution of the American horseshoe “crab.” In: Cohen E (ed) Biomedical Applications of the Horseshoe Crab (Limulidae). Alan R. Liss, New York, pp 3–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuster CNJr (1982) A pictorial review of the natural history and ecology of the horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus, with reference to other Limulidae. In: Bonaventura J, Bonaventura C, Tesh S (eds) Physiology and Biology of Horseshoe Crabs. Alan R. Liss, New York, pp 1–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Shuster CN Jr, Botton ML (1985) A contribution to the population biology of horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus (L.), in Delaware Bay. Estuaries 8:363–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stearns F (1969) Bathymetric maps and geomorphology of the middle Atlantic continental shelf. Fish Bull 68:37–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Swan BL (2005) Migrations of adult horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus, in the Middle Atlantic Bight: a 17-year tagging study. Estuaries 18:28–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsuchiya K (1980) The transitions in decrease in number of horseshoe crabs in Kasaoka Bay. Rep Res Horseshoe Crab 1:5–9 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tsuchiya K (1982) On the present status of horseshoe crabs in Kasaoka Bay. Rep Res Horseshoe Crab 2:3–4 (in Japanese)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Virginia Institute/School of Marine Science, The College of William & Mary, 3733 25th Street North, 22207-5011, Arlington, VA, USA

    Carl N. Shuster Jr.

  2. University of Tsukuba, Ushigasane, Kisai-machi, Saitama-ken, 347-0103, Japan

    Koichi Sekiguchi

Authors
  1. Carl N. Shuster Jr.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Koichi Sekiguchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carl N. Shuster Jr. .

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

Shuster, C.N., Sekiguchi, K. (2009). Basic Habitat Requirements of the Extant Species of Horseshoe Crabs (Limulacea). 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_7

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation