Horseshoe Crabs in the face of Climate Change; Future Challenges and Conservation Strategies for their sustainable growth and existence

Jayant K. Mishra
Department of Ocean Studies and Marine Biology Pondicherry University
Brookshabad Campus, Port Blair - 744 101, A & N Islands, INDIA
E-mail: jkmishra.omb@pondiuni.edu.in

Abstract.Intertidal habitats are very complex, which is considered as the most dynamic living shore line endowed with rich biodiversity. It envisages variety of habitat types including sandy beaches, mud flats, marsh lands, mangroves, grass lands, creeks etc.. These heterogenic coastal habitats not only support vivid biodiversity but also provide innumerable ecosystem based services. Though these habitats are independent, but they are interdependent and function in synchrony with the environmental processes and ecological conditions. These coastal habitat specificity are well documented in case of four extant species of horseshoe crabs Tachypleus gigas, Carcinoscorpius rotundicauda, Tachypleus tridentatus, and Limulus Polyphemus, which are considered as endangered species in the world. These severe threat. Each of these species are adapted to specific environmental conditions for their egg laying by making nests in their preferred location in the intertidal zone. The breeding process found to be very unique with the selection of a specific nesting breeding zone with the involvement of specialized sensory mechanism. However, structural characteristics of breeding beach sediments play pivotal role in providing optimal incubating conditions for the development of eggs till they attend trilobite stage.
But in recent years, the impact of global climate change and its inflicting long term irreversible damage on different habitat types in the coastal environment has become major concern. The major threat being the ecosystem and bring changes in coastal geomorphology.
As a result the loss of breeding habitats due to the compounding effect of disturbed global climatic conditions and human interference is increasing day by day. It is thus paramount to protect the habitat structure by adopting proper habitat management strategy and protect this highly fragile environment in terms of their utilization and stratification pattern to withstand any impact in the face of the global climate change, which is undeniably imminent due to frequent natural calamities and increased unregulated anthropogenic interference. The probable strategies towards the conservation of breeding beaches of horseshoe crabs are discussed.

Keywords.Climate change, coastal geomorphology, habitat stratification, horseshoe crab nesting ground.