Late Night with Horseshoe Crabs: Zoom Lecture Only

What do thousands of horseshoe crabs do when the evening tide is high and the spring moon is new or full? Listen in to learn about a spawning so huge that people travel to view it from around the world.

The scene begins with male horseshoe crabs waiting along the water’s edge. As a female moves with the tide onto the beach, the male grabs her shell with his claws, hitching a ride on her shell.  As she builds nests or leaves egg clusters along the beach, the male is pulled with her, fertilizing the eggs. Once the mating is complete, both head back to the water. Most of the action happens late into the evening, after 10 pm. Over multiple trips over multiple nights, one female can lay up to 88,000 eggs per year.

We will meet on Zoom on June 4 from 7 to 8 pm to learn about the horseshoe crab behavior and their important role in the Bay ecosystem. Both the Zoom presentation and the field trip will be led by Brad Stevens, Professor Emeritus, and Distinguished Research Scientist at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). Dr. Stevens worked in Kodiak, Alaska, for over 20 years before coming to UMES, where he used scuba and underwater video to study fish, crabs, conch, and corals. He tells his graduate students “Always study something you can eat.” Would that apply to horseshoe crab? The Zoom link will be in your confirmation email after registering.