|Regions:Dover/Somersworth -Portsmouth -Rochester -Southern Maine|
Being `crabby' might benefit mankind, UNH researcher says
Friday, May 10, 2013
DURHAM — They've got blue blood, more than four eyes, have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, and could save your life. It's no wonder University of New Hampshire graduate student Helen Cheng is so passionate about horseshoe crabs.
Horseshoe crab monitoring efforts done in other states, from Massachusetts to Florida, have indicated that horseshoe crab populations there are in decline. Cheng's monitoring project is essential to understanding the status of the horseshoe crab population in New Hampshire, specifically Great Bay Estuary, which prior to her current study, was virtually unknown.
The dinner plate-sized armored creatures — not true crabs, but related to spiders and scorpions — are highly valued for their unique blue blood, which is widely used in the biomedical industry to ensure that injectable medications like drugs and vaccines, as well as medical devices, are free of bacterial contamination.
“I don't think there's any one human being who hasn't been touched by horseshoe crabs. Their blue blood is the equivalent of gold,” Cheng says.
Horseshoe crabs are also used as bait in the eel and whelk, or conch, fisheries, and, like many coastal species, they face growing threats from destruction of their habitat by development.
Cheng is reaching out to boaters, recreational fishermen, and homeowners around Great Bay to alert her if they spot horseshoe crabs, especially large groups of them, noting where they spot them, how many they see, and whether any horseshoe crabs have tags.
“Having more 'eyes' to look for tagged animals and note where they are will be most beneficial,” says Cheng. Horseshoe crab spotters can report their findings by email to Cheng or Watson (email@example.com, firstname.lastname@example.org), or by calling their lab (603-862-4019).
Read more about Helen Cheng and her work with horseshoe crabs in Great Bay at her blog: http://micropopbio.org/hcheng/gbehscsurveys.