Coincident ruddy turnstone migration and horseshoe crab spawning creates an ecological ‘hot spot’ for influenza viruses

Since 1985, avian influenza virus surveillance has been conducted annually from mid-May to early June in charadriiform species from the families Scolopacidae and Laridae (shorebirds and gulls) at Delaware Bay in the northeast United States. The mass migrations of shorebirds, gulls and horseshoe crabs ( Limulus polyphemus ) coincide at that time, and large numbers of migrating birds pause at Delaware Bay to feed on horseshoe crab eggs deposited at the high-tide line. Influenza viruses are consistently isolated from charadriiform birds at Delaware Bay, at an overall rate approximately 17 times the combined rate of isolation at all other surveillance sites worldwide (490 isolates/9474 samples, 5.2% versus 49 isolates per 15 848 samples, 0.3%, respectively; Proportion test, p < 0.0001). The likelihood of isolating influenza viruses at Delaware Bay is dependent on the presence of ruddy turnstone ( Arenaria interpres ) at the sampling site ( G -test of independence, p < 0.001). The convergence of host factors and environmental factors results in a unique ecological ‘hot spot’ for influenza viruses in Charadriiformes .

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Age and sex specific timing, frequency, and spatial distribution of horseshoe crab spawning in Delaware Bay: Insights from a large-scale radio telemetry array

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/czoolo/56.5.563 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 56 (5) ◽

pp. 563-574 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

David R. Smith ◽

Brousseau Lorne J. ◽

Mary T. Mandt ◽

Michael J. Millard

Keyword(s):

Water Temperature ◽

Large Scale ◽

Horseshoe Crab ◽

Radio Telemetry ◽

Spring Tide ◽

Delaware Bay ◽

Spawning Season ◽

Adult Age ◽

Horseshoe Crabs ◽

Males And Females

Abstract To study horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus spawning behavior and migration over a large-spatial extent (>100 km), we arrayed fixed station radio receivers throughout Delaware Bay and deployed radio transmitters and archival tags on adult horseshoe crabs prior to their spawning season. We tagged and released 160 females and 60 males in 2004 and 217 females in 2005. The array covered approximately 140 km of shoreline. Recapture rates were >70% with multi-year recaptures. We categorized adult age by carapace wear. Older females tended to spawn earlier in the season and more frequently than young females, but those tendencies were more apparent in 2004 when spawning overall occurred earlier than in 2005 when spawning was delayed possibly due to decreased water temperatures. Timing of initial spawning within a year was correlated with water temperature. After adjusting for day of first spring tide, the day of first spawning was 4 days earlier for every 1 degree (̊C) rise in mean daily water temperature in May. Seventy nine % of spawning occurred during nighttime high tides. Fifty five % of spawning occurred within 3 d of a spring tide, which was slightly higher than the 47% expected if spawning was uniformly distributed regardless of tidal cycle. Within the same spawning season, males and females were observed spawning or intertidally resting at more than one beach separated by >5 km. Between years, most (77%) did not return to spawn at the same beach. Probability of stranding was strongly age dependent for males and females with older adults experiencing higher stranding rates. Horseshoe crabs staging in the shallow waters east of the channel spawned exclusively along the eastern (NJ) shoreline, but those staging west of the channel spawned throughout the bay. Overall, several insights emerged from the use of radio telemetry, which advances our understanding of horseshoe crab ecology and will be useful in conserving the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population and habitats.

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Beach restoration improves habitat quality for American horseshoe crabs and shorebirds in the Delaware Bay, USA

Marine Ecology Progress Series ◽

10.3354/meps13371 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 645 ◽

pp. 91-107

Author(s):

JAM Smith ◽

LJ Niles ◽

S Hafner ◽

A Modjeski ◽

T Dillingham

Keyword(s):

Horseshoe Crab ◽

Management Practices ◽

Delaware Bay ◽

Wildlife Habitat ◽

Sea Levels ◽

Coastal Species ◽

Horseshoe Crabs ◽

Feeding Habitat ◽

Restoration Strategies ◽

Cluster Abundance

Beach nourishment is commonly conducted to protect human infrastructure but rarely for the primary purpose of improving wildlife habitat. To improve horseshoe crab spawning and shorebird feeding habitat in the Delaware Bay, New Jersey (USA), we removed 2000 t of shoreline rubble and placed sand on 16 ha of degraded shoreline spanning 8 beaches. Horseshoe crab egg cluster abundance varied annually, seasonally and spatially. Beaches restored using sand with grain size fractions similar to native sand had horseshoe crab egg cluster abundances matching or exceeding those of high-quality reference beaches. Deeper sand with a higher coarse-grain fraction resulted in the highest egg cluster abundance across all sites and beaches, while finer-grained sand used on a subset of restored beaches was associated with lower egg cluster abundances. These patterns were also reflected in shallow egg availability for shorebirds, with egg cluster abundance correlating positively with shallow egg abundance. Over time, sand placed on beaches moved cross-shore and longshore, and overwashed into marshes. Longshore sand movement nourished adjacent beaches and ebb shoals at creek mouths. Such shoals attract spawning horseshoe crabs and have high densities of surface eggs available for shorebird feeding, but experience high attrition of egg clusters. This study demonstrates that investments in beach restoration provide important benefits for horseshoe crabs and shorebirds. Outcomes can be further improved by expanding project scope and integrating other coastal restoration strategies. Restoration will be critical for the conservation of coastal species as sea levels rise and current and past coastal management practices continue to degrade habitats.

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Bled

Catch and Release ◽

10.18574/nyu/9781479876303.003.0004 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Lisa Jean Moore

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Health Care ◽

Quality Control ◽

Horseshoe Crab ◽

The United States ◽

Standard Test ◽

Nonhuman Animal ◽

Laboratory Studies ◽

Health Care Demand ◽

Horseshoe Crabs

In 1964, Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL), developed from horseshoe crab blood, was discovered as an effective pryogen test. Limulus blood reacts to endotoxins by forming a gel. The LAL test, constructed from horseshoe crab amoebocytes, has become the standard test in the United States, Europe, and Asia to test pharmaceutical injectables and pharmaceutical insertables for biomedical and veterinary uses. Without it, endotoxins could contaminate all of our laboratory studies, our bodies, and other nonhuman animal bodies. We’ve made horseshoe crabs indispensable to our human and veterinary biomedicine. We need their blood, and as health care demand grows, we will need more and more. I explain how blood donations are detrimental to the crabs. Furthermore, I explain how the LAL test is a not lifesaving test but is instead used for quality control. Even with all of this information and the viability of a synthetic alternative, the bureaucracy surrounding the procedure for switching to the synthetic alternative will prevent the switch from happening until most of the crabs have died. They are not valued like humans are; they are instead valued for their use to humans and will be valued that way until they are used up.

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The Geographic Variation of Surveillance and Zoonotic Spillover Potential of Influenza Viruses in Domestic Poultry and Swine

Open Forum Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1093/ofid/ofy318 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 5 (12) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Kathryn A Berger ◽

David M Pigott ◽

Francesca Tomlinson ◽

David Godding ◽

Sebastian Maurer-Stroh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Influenza Virus ◽

Geographic Variation ◽

Swine Influenza ◽

Influenza Viruses ◽

Sub Saharan Africa ◽

Virus Surveillance ◽

Domestic Poultry ◽

Risk Areas ◽

Sub Saharan ◽

Virus Emergence

Abstract Background Avian and swine influenza viruses circulate worldwide and pose threats to both animal and human health. The design of global surveillance strategies is hindered by information gaps on the geospatial variation in virus emergence potential and existing surveillance efforts. Methods We developed a spatial framework to quantify the geographic variation in outbreak emergence potential based on indices of potential for animal-to-human and secondary human-to-human transmission. We then compared our resultant raster model of variation in emergence potential with the global distribution of recent surveillance efforts from 359105 reports of surveillance activities. Results Our framework identified regions of Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Central America, and sub-Saharan Africa with high potential for influenza virus spillover. In the last 15 years, however, we found that 78.43% and 49.01% of high-risk areas lacked evidence of influenza virus surveillance in swine and domestic poultry, respectively. Conclusions Our work highlights priority areas where improved surveillance and outbreak mitigation could enhance pandemic preparedness strategies.

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Horseshoe crabs as potential sentinel species for coastal health: juvenile haemolymph quality and relationship to habitat conditions

Marine and Freshwater Research ◽

10.1071/mf17210 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 69 (6) ◽

pp. 894 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Billy K. Y. Kwan ◽

Virginia K. Y. Un ◽

S. G. Cheung ◽

Paul K. S. Shin

Keyword(s):

Horseshoe Crab ◽

Anthropogenic Activities ◽

Monitoring Program ◽

Significant Negative Correlation ◽

Sentinel Species ◽

Crab Species ◽

Horseshoe Crabs ◽

The Difference ◽

Lead Nickel ◽

Further Development

As an interface between terrestrial and marine environments, coastal and estuarine areas are particularly prone to various pollution stresses. Identification of sentinel species is, therefore, essential to provide precautionary information on coastal health conditions. Given their significant ecological roles in estuarine ecosystems, horseshoe crabs are a potential species to indicate the general health status of coastal habitats. The present study demonstrated that the changes in haemolymph composition pattern of two Asian juvenile horseshoe crab species (Tachypleus tridentatus and Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda) are sensitive to reflect heavy metal (lead, nickel and iron) and nutrient (nitrate and ammonia) concentrations of intertidal sediments. In particular, a significant negative correlation was found for the amebocyte viability and ratio of granular–spherical to granular–flattened and degranulated dendritic-like morphological states of amebocytes in juvenile haemolymph with nitrate and lead concentrations respectively. There were also significantly higher concentrations of haemolymph haemocyanin and plasma protein in juvenile C. rotundicauda than in T. tridentatus on the same shore, possibly being related to the difference in foraging habitats of these two horseshoe crab species. Such non-lethal sampling of haemolymph from juvenile horseshoe crabs can be useful for a further development of the monitoring program in assessing potential environmental impacts by anthropogenic activities.

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