Horseshoe crabs regularly nest in salt marshes, new research suggests

by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
May 14, 2024

If you’ve ever encountered the domed shell of a horseshoe crab, chances are it was on a sandy beach.

Until recently, beaches were believed to be the only places where horseshoe crab eggs could hatch and grow. But three years ago, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) biologists discovered that salt marshes might have an unexpected importance to these ancient invertebrates, offering alternate habitat where eggs and hatchlings can thrive.

Now, the same research team, in collaboration with researchers at Sacred Heart University and Plymouth State University, has shared new findings confirming that American horseshoe crabs regularly spawn in salt marshes – not just in South Carolina, but across the Atlantic coastline. The research was published recently in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

“While horseshoe crabs would occasionally be observed spawning in marsh areas, that behavior was always thought to be rare,” said lead author and SCDNR scientist Dr. Daniel Sasson. “This study shows that spawning in marshes is more common than we ever thought and seems to happen across much of their range.”

Keep reading: https://www.dnr.sc.gov/news/2024/May/may14-crab.php

Read the Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/fee.2738