Along the Atlantic Coast, one species is supporting ecological and human health — the American horseshoe crab. In Maryland, horseshoe crabs are a common site on the coast and in coastal bays. Harvest ...

Horseshoe crabs are not endangered or threatened in Massachusetts, but their numbers are at historic lows. To protect the species, state wildlife officials are rolling out new regulations. As of 2024, ...

Once there was a superabundance of horseshoe crabs; armadas of females blanketed the beaches of the Delaware Bayshore. Through the 1990s, New Jersey’s horseshoe crab breeding and coinciding red knot ...

BAY POINT, N.J. — Susan Linder was hunting for buried treasure. Kneeling at low tide, the biologist dug up small shovelfuls of sand, scanning each scoop for tiny jewels. One yielded a cluster of ...

If there was ever a competition for the “perfect species,” the humble horseshoe crab likely would be a top contender. Its design is so flawless that it has remained essentially unchanged for about 445 ...

Each May, hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs climb onto beaches along the eastern coast of the United States. An invertebrate’s “Love Island,” males compete to procreate with the largest females ...

Horseshoe crab populations in Rhode Island have not rebounded in 25 years despite restoration efforts. The crabs are harvested as bait for fishermen, and their blood is used to test for bacterial ...

While South Carolina has made significant strides in recent years to protect the health of horseshoe crabs in its waters — and in turn protecting the red knot shorebirds that feed on the crabs’ eggs ...

Loss of habitat, overharvesting and a degrading environment have contributed to the persistent "severe decline" of horseshoe crabs in and around Long Island Sound over more than two decades, according ...

Every year in May when high tide coincides with the full moon, horseshoe crabs convene on the beaches of the mid-Atlantic coast to lay millions of eggs. At the same time, migratory shorebirds on their ...