Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Amy Hopkins Fights the Good Fight for Horseshoe Crabs

Amy Hopkins is volunteering in a project that tags and studies horseshoe crabs in Connecticut. The New Haven Register reports:

“You are feisty tonight, aren’t you!” Amy Hopkins tells one horseshoe crab attempting to crawl away on the beach as she bends down and measures its shell with a ruler. 
Groups across the state study local horseshoe crab populations each year at this time as part of Project Limulus, an effort started more than 10 years ago at Sacred Heart University. In May and June during high tide and their mating season, horseshoe crabs emerge close to the coast, making this a prime opportunity for hands-on research. The creatures are sturdy, but still can’t bite, sting or pinch humans.
Sacred Heart University researchers and community volunteers use special tags to track the species as well as study attributes of local populations because of their medical and ecological importance — even if they have to sacrifice sleep for the cause.

No comments:

Post a Comment