The spring moon is inspiring romance (of sorts) on the beach. But we’re not talking Burt Lancaster/Deborah Kerr/”From Here to Eternity” romance.
Horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) come up onto Long Island Sound beaches to spawn during the nights of the full and new moons in May and June. If you ever wanted to learn about horseshoe crabs, these nights – when the creatures come ashore right to you – are the opportune time to do your work.
What would anyone want to learn about horseshoe crabs?
Well, there are concerns about the population numbers of this ancient harmless species, whose eggs are an important food source for migrating shorebirds. If the horseshoe crab population declines, that could mean fewer birds on our coastline.
So The Maritime Aquarium is participating in a census of horseshoe crabs in Long Island Sound, being led by Dr. Jennifer Mattei of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield. Dr. Mattei’s census is establishing a baseline crab population and will reveal horseshoe crab migrations and any changes in numbers or behaviors.
The Aquarium logs information on – and tags – every horseshoe crab that comes up on our research vessel during our public Marine Life Study Cruises (offered at 1 p.m. Saturdays through June 28, and then at 1 p.m. daily in July & August).
And we train citizen scientists to join us at Norwalk’s Calf Pasture Beach on the nights of the spring full and new moons. Led by veteran educator Joe Schnierlein, staff and volunteers go out at about 11 p.m. on those nights, and return the following morning around 5 a.m. to tag any stragglers.
The crab-spawning party apparently broke up early overnight May 28-29, as there were few stragglers left at dawn on the chilly but lovely beach. We tagged just four crabs, and took information on another crab sporting a tag from (probably) last year.
If you happen to be at a Long Island Sound beach and find a horseshoe crab wearing a tag, there are folks who will want to know about it. Call the phone number on the tag or fill out the form at www.fws.gov/crabtag. They’ll send you back a certificate of thanks with information on where your crab originally was tagged.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
The Maritime Aquarium is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to educate visitors about – and to create stewards for – Long Island Sound. It accomplishes this by allowing visitors to get close to more than 250 species native to the Sound and its watershed, including sharks, seals, sea turtles, river otters, jellyfish and other animals. One of the top places for family fun in Connecticut, the Aquarium also features hands-on educational programs and displays, public study cruises out onto the Sound, and Connecticut's largest IMAX movie theater, with a screen that's six stories high.
