A mid-Atlantic study of the movement patterns and population distribution of the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus)

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorGrogan, Whitney Nicoleen
dc.contributor.committeechairBerkson, James M.en
dc.contributor.committeememberMurphy, Brian R.en
dc.contributor.committeememberVaughan, Michael R.en
dc.contributor.departmentFisheries and Wildlife Sciencesen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:50:29Zen
dc.date.adate2004-12-23en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:50:29Zen
dc.date.issued2004-12-08en
dc.date.rdate2004-12-23en
dc.date.sdate2004-12-20en
dc.description.abstractIn conjunction with Cambrex, a biomedical company that utilizes horseshoe crabs for the production of Limulus Amoebocyte Lysate (LAL), a study was conducted to investigate movement patterns and population distributions of horseshoe crabs to increase understanding of mid-Atlantic horseshoe crab populations. In addition, areas of the shoreline of Tom's Cove, Assateague Island, Virginia were investigated as possible locations for annual spawning surveys. Twelve thousand five hundred horseshoe crabs were tagged and released in Chincoteague, Virginia and Ocean City, Maryland as part of a movement study; 431 (3.45%) were reported as resights. The mean distance between site of release and site of recapture for all resighted crabs was 68.3 km; maximum distance moved was 493.7 km. During 1999-2004, demographic data were collected from horseshoe crabs harvested in Chincoteague, VA and Ocean City, MD. The proportion of females (p < 0.0001) and juveniles (p < 0.0001) sampled varied from year-to-year, but no trends were observed. This study also showed that a greater proportion of females were observed in the juvenile cohort sampled compared to the adults sampled (p < 0.0001). The spawning survey revealed that spawning activity in Tom's Cove varied between years. On May 30th, 2003, 1,192 horseshoe crabs were observed spawning on the northern shoreline of Tom's Cove. The maximum number of horseshoe crabs observed spawning in the same area in 2004 was 94. This study provides no evidence for isolated subpopulations in Chincoteague, VA or Ocean City, MD. It also shows that horseshoe crab sex and age ratios fluctuate annually, therefore requiring a long time series of data to detect trends.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-12202004-143419en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-12202004-143419/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/36327en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartGROGAN_THESIS.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectspawning surveyen
dc.subjecthorseshoe craben
dc.subjectLimulus polyphemusen
dc.subjectstock structureen
dc.subjecttrawl surveyen
dc.subjectmovementen
dc.subjectmark-recaptureen
dc.titleA mid-Atlantic study of the movement patterns and population distribution of the American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus)en
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineFisheries and Wildlife Sciencesen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
GROGAN_THESIS.pdf
Size:
2.12 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Masters Theses