[va-richmond-general] Re: Horseshoe Crab Bill
- From: "Mike Wilson" <mdwils@xxxxxx>
- To: <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 8 Feb 2006 16:13:05 -0500
I can elaborate to answer your question Mary,
Population recruitment is the phenomena of new individuals entering the
population. Recruitment is a necessary event to maintain a population,
since in a very basic sense, a population balance is equal to the number of
births and immigrants minus deaths and emigration. The term recruitment
always seem strange to me since it gives the feel of an active gathering
versus a passive settlement - but someone coined it along time ago and it
stuck. So I was using the term to ask whether or not maintenance of
Delaware Bay horseshoe crabs population of was contingent on crabs born in
Virginia migrating to Delaware or was the Delaware Bay population
autonomous/self maintaining from their own breeding events. Obviously the
opposite could be true or the two populations may act as one. There is an
ever-growing realization that populations of some organisms are dependent on
upon the sharing of individuals across large geographic scales. I know very
little about the biology of horseshoe crabs however so the original question
may be wild eyed but I would not be surprised if their is some exchange of
individuals based on their long life span, propensity for migration to and
from the coast, and long time to reach sexual maturity.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mary Davis" <madanthony3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2006 3:49 PM
Subject: [va-richmond-general] Re: Horseshoe Crab Bill
Wow. Now those are interesting facts. I'm not sure what population
recruitment means. Could you elaborate? I like your suggestion for
matching the moratoriums of other states. Perhaps Audubon Societies in
the Tidewater/Central Virginia area could work with VMRC and other
organizations, with the aid of researchers, to craft a better bill next
year.
Mary Davis
PS - Thanks to Wendy as well for clarification of the proceedings and the
bill itself. I knew people witnessing the proceedings could not speak up,
but was wondering if any legislators had asked.
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Wilson <mdwils@xxxxxx>
Sent: Feb 8, 2006 1:01 PM
To: va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [va-richmond-general] Re: Horseshoe Crab Bill
An important fact to know is that Red Knots do not forage on horseshoe
crab
eggs in Virginia. They are foraging on bivalves while here. So the
horseshoe crab harvest in Virginia does not affect Red knots directly but
I
do not know how the harvest impacts other species (including other birds),
horseshoe crabs, or the ecosystem at large. It is also important to know
that while migratory populations of Red Knots have declined greatly in
Delaware Bay, the peak numbers during migration in Virginia have not
changed
in 10 years. So, aside from the impact on other species that may be
unknown, the biggest issue is that Virginia remains the loophole for
fisherman to harvest horseshoe crabs in Delaware Bay and land them here.
The other unknown is the spatial extent of horseshoe crab population
dynamics. Does Virginia play a role in population recruitment of crabs in
Delaware Bay? I don't know the answer to that question but it obviously
has
implications. Perhaps a key element is to regulate the Virginia harvest
and
landing and not impose a full moratorium on the harvest. Although I have
no
suggestion how that could be accomplished.
Rather than attach a population target to the bill, as was done, a better
strategy may have been to have the bill simply follow the moratorium of
the
states in Delaware Bay. That is, Virginia maintains a moratorium until NJ
lifts their prohibition and so on. I do not know how those states
moratoriums are written into law but that could be problematic as well.
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