These 450 million years old animals are disappearing from oceans due to global warming!
For hundreds of millions of years, horseshoe crabs have been crawling around the ocean floor. Coming ashore to mate in the spring, these living fossils are synched to the rhythms of the tides.
Today, migratory shorebirds, sea turtles, and other ocean animals depend on horseshoe crabs for food. They are a keystone species at the heart of many coastal ecosystems in Asia, and along the east coast of North America.
Despite having survived ice ages and asteroids, these long-lived animals might finally be on their way out. And if they disappear, the consequences could be lethal. Not just for the many species that depend on them, but for humans too.
The horseshoe crab has evolved a powerful mechanism for protecting itself from infection. When bacteria sneaks past a horseshoe crab's shell, cells in the crab's blood send out a chemical that clots around the invader, stopping it in its tracks. Horseshoe crabs are predators and feed on small worms, clams, algae and crustaceans.
And it's this property that makes horseshoe crab blood invaluable to the medical industry, and to just about every human alive today.
It's used by the biomedical industry to test things that go into your body, whether it be blood or heart valves, to make sure that they're not contaminated. It's currently the only FDA approved method that insures vaccines, various drugs, and medical devices
are free of toxic bacteria that might otherwise harm or kill us.
And as a result, thousands of horseshoe crabs are bled every year to get this, and then they're released. It's estimated that over half a million crabs are bled every year in the United States. Each one contributing about a third of their blood, before being returned to the ocean.
This catch-and-release system supposedly leads to few crab deaths, so while American fishermen who harvest horseshoe crabs as bait have to limit their catch, the medical industry hasn't been subject to quotas.
In recent years, people have noticed that horseshoe crab numbers are dropping. In fact, the Atlantic horseshoe crab is currently listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. One step down from endangered.
And the three other species of horseshoe crabs have started to disappear from many of their usual haunts in Asia. Global warming and habitat loss are probably at play here, but there's a growing concern that the practice of bleeding the crabs might also be a factor in their declining numbers.
While the race is on to create an FDA approved synthetic alternative, some scientists are exploring how the bleeding process might be stressing horseshoe crab populations.
There's something that makes us want to preserve these animals, because they've been around so long. We'd hate to see them disappear after being here for 450 million years.
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I’ve really been enjoying your posts lately @munawar1235. They’re well written, informative, and interesting. I had no idea horseshoe crabs were so important to the biomedical industry. They’re like conscientious vampires for horseshoe crabs! I look forward to the next post.
That picture is always a bit disturbing to look at, imagine if those were people.
But yes, they are vital for human research, and it's sad to see how we've trashed our global ecosystems.
You are so intelligent @munwar. This section will create awareness among us and we will take care of our extinct animals, they may not become extinct. Thanks for share it.
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good information. people should know about this. keep doing good post.
very important post! thank you for sharing it, and thank you for making it so easy to digest, as well :)
climate change is so real! articles like these help mobilize others ! great work, @munawar1235!!
upvotes
450 million years! That's quite an old creature!!!
Nice informative post, no doubt. As they have value to us, we should concentrate on protecting them from extinction. #steemitachievers