Freshwater Crab
A nice example of how tropical rainforest ecosystems are equally complex underwater in rainforest streams as they are in the actual forest – no species exists in a vacuum. Note how an impressive number of hydras has found a cozy home on this freshwater crab… Photographed by RTPI President Twan Leenders for the Meet Your Neighbours global biodiversity project.
Read MoreCrab Breakfast
Did you have crab for breakfast today? I know someone who did…Harley the Harlequin Duck certainly knows fine dining. He also enjoys mussels that are easier to hold on to in that bill. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreTagged Horseshoe Crab
I found this deceased Horseshoe Crab at Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Pleasure Beach in June. As you can see it has a large tag on it from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Here along the Connecticut coast Sacred Heart University is studying the Horseshoe Crab through Project Limulus. This effort monitors populations, helps to track individuals by tagging, seeks to better understand their biology, and works to aid the spawning process by protecting the species and educating the public. Learn more by visiting their website! I reported this individual, a male, which I was told was first...
Read MoreHorseshoe Crabs
If you are on the Atlantic Coast during the late spring you may be fortunate enough to find Horseshoe Crabs during the breeding season. Early June, especially around a new or full moon, is a very busy time for these marine arthropods that are considering living fossils, having existed nearly unchanged for approximately 450 million years. These photos were taken at Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut, an important mating site at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The females will lay eggs on beaches like this one, some subsequently being eaten by migrant shorebirds. The most vivid...
Read MoreMangrove Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus subtilis) by Twan Leenders
Here’s a juvenile Mangrove Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus subtilis) enjoying some crab on the beach in Costa Rica. I’m sure many of us would like to be doing something similar right about now.
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