Page 9
Fall 2013
NATURAL RESOURCES PROTECTIVE ASSOCIATION
survival of other species. The
ŵĂƟŶŐ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐ ŝŶǀ Žůǀ ĞƐ ŵĂůĞƐ
pursuing females as they move
up the beach during full moons in
the spring.
Females, who are much larger
than the males, come up on the
beach to lay their eggs. Males
latch on to them and when the
female digs a hole and deposit
ŚĞƌ ĞŐŐƐ͕
ƚŚĞ ŵĂůĞƐ ĨĞƌƟůŝnjĞ
them.
Subsequent
trips to the beach by
other crabs dislodge
previously deposited
ĞŐŐƐ ĂŶĚ ƐĐĂƩ Ğƌ ƚŚĞŵ
on the shore. These
eggs provide life-
giving sustenance for
shore birds.
The Red Knot, a migra-
tory bird from South
America makes only
one stop between Ec-
uador and Western Canada,
ǀ ŽůƵƟŽŶĂƌLJ ƉƌŽĐĞƐƐĞƐ ŚĂǀ Ğ ĂƌͲ
ranged for the Red Knots to ar-
D ĂƟŶŐŚŽƌƐĞƐŚŽĞĐƌĂďƐ
teamed to remove over 700 lbs.
of debris and garbage from
Oakwood (Fox) Beach at the foot
of Tarlton Avenue. The cleanup
was sponsored by the American
>ŝƩ ŽƌĂů^ŽĐŝĞƚLJĂŶĚ ƐƵƉƉůŝĞƐ ǁ ĞƌĞ
funded by the Richmond County
^Ăǀ ŝŶŐƐ ĨŽƵŶĚĂƟŽŶ͘
ĞďƌŝƐ ƌĞŵŽǀ ĞĚ ŝŶĐůƵĚĞĚ ƉůĂƐƟĐ
and glass beverage containers,
bait packaging, household toilet-
ƌŝĞƐ͕
ĚƌŝŌǁ ŽŽĚ͕
ƉĂƌƚLJĨĂǀ ŽƌƐ ĂŶĚ
ϭϰŵŽƚŽƌĐLJĐůĞƟƌĞƐ͘
Fall walks on the beach turn up
ŵĂŶLJ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƟŶŐ Į ŶĚƐ͘
:
ŝŵ
Scarcella and Tony Rose collected
a number of them on a recent
shorefront clean-up. The haul
included red sponge, horseshoe
and spider crabs as well as feath-
ers from a number of shore birds
and the skull from a sea robin.
A dozen school children from Our
Lady Queen of Peace joined the
ŝŶŝƟĂƟǀ Ğ ĂŶĚ ůĂƚĞƌ ƐƉĞŶƚ ƟŵĞ
with Tony as he explained the
ƉĂƩ ĞƌŶƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ůŝĨĞ ŽĨ ŚŽƌƐĞƐŚŽĞ
crabs.
An animal older than the dino-
saurs, horseshoe crabs have
found a niche in coastal areas on
ƐĂŶĚLJŽƌ ŵƵĚĚLJďŽƩ ŽŵƐ͘
dŚĞLJ
are considered living fossils. Un-
like human blood which contains
iron, horseshoe crab blood con-
tains copper, is blue and reacts to
the presence of bacterial exotox-
ins. Crabs are harvested, some
blood is collected and used to
produce indicators for sterilized
medical equipment. The crabs
are then returned to the ocean.
Ʃ ĞŵƉƚƐ ƚŽ ďƌĞĞĚ ƚŚĞŵ ŝŶ ĐĂƉͲ
Ɵǀ ŝƚLJŚĂǀ ĞĨĂŝůĞĚ͘
ŶŽƚŚĞƌ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƟŶŐĂƐƉĞĐƚ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ
ĐƌĂďƐ ŝƐ ƚŚĞŝƌ ĐŽŶƚƌŝďƵƟŽŶ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ