The Importance
of Horseshoe Crabs
Horseshoe crabs have been around for over 450million years and are important to many species including humans. but what if we are the ones who cause this all to end
Why are horseshoe crabs important?
Horseshoe crabs are being bleed because there blood contains Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) which is used in the medical field almost every day. Many other animals rely on the crabs as well. One is the Red Knot bird who eats the crabs eggs during the migration from Pole to Pole.
The Bleeding Process
When horseshoe crabs are spawning during the full moon, in summer, horseshoe crabs are collected by fishermen, taken to a lab and given to biomedical companies. In the lab they are strapped to a special table and are pierced with a pump which takes blood straight from the heart. The blood is then separated, and the proteins within the white blood cells are processed for more precise results. Then the crabs are released to enjoy freedom again. But what if they get taken again too soon? When horseshoe crabs are bled, ⅓ of their blood is taken and they need time to recover.
Fishermen will not be able to tell if a horseshoe crab has just been bled.
Our Tagging System
Our innovation project focuses on a tagging system as a solution to the problem we have identified. Research helped us learn that some crabs are tagged to monitor migration patterns. Currently phar. Melanie Meade, from South Fork Natural History Museum, told us when horseshoe crabs are released from facilities, there’s no guarantee they are going to be put back where they were taken from, which could disturb their migration patterns and their population rates. This is why we want to include this information on the horseshoe crabs’ tags. Currently, pharmaceutical labs involved in the collection of horseshoe crab blood sometimes use a non-toxic paint to prevent horseshoe crabs from being bled more than once per year.
But the problem is, paint is NOT permanent and doesn’t provide specific information. A tag
attached to a mature female horseshoe crab will be permanent and signal that a horseshoe crab should not be used for blood again. We found in our research that the amount of deaths should be monitored to make sure that crabs are not bled more than once in a year. This would slow the mortality rate.
Tag design: The tag design is one piece to where there is a top and bottom and the bottom goes into the crab's shell and there is a lip on the end of the elongated piece so the tag doesn’t come out easily. The top is a circle with a little bump on the top of the circle. We put the bump because if the person that is taking the horseshoe crab isn’t paying attention and doesn’t see the tag they could still feel it. The bump is not high above the tag because the way horseshoe crabs move is very arrow dynamic and we don’t want to make it harder for the crab to swim.
Extra Facts
During the bleeding process there is a 15% mortality rate and a 30% rate when being transported after
One liter of horseshoe crab blood costs $15,000
Sea Turtles also rely on Horseshoe crabs
The Crabs are also used for bait to catch Whelk and Eels which is also making their population quickly decline
Take our Quiz!
Take our quiz to test your Horseshoe Crab knowledge!