Sep 19, 2023
In this episode, I speak with Carly Toulan of the Maryland Coastal Bays Program. Every spring, working with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, she and her team of volunteers conduct a survey of spawning horseshoe crabs in Maryland's coastal bays. These surveys provide invaluable insights into not only horseshoe crabs but the environment around them. (They also rescue stranded spawning horseshoe crabs.)
I met up with Carly at the Oceanic Motel in Ocean City, along the inlet and in the shadow of Trimper Rides. It was a surprisingly windy day, and even with a fitted windscreen my microphones still picked up the wind noise you hear in the background. We had an amazing conversation that covered seemingly everything about horseshoe crabs: habitat, spawning, anatomy, mortality, importance of coastal bay islands, and LAL and the role they play in keeping us all safe. It's a rich and enriching journey into the life of Carly's (and mine) favorite living fossil.
Resources, or Down the Rabbit Hole:
Horseshoe Crab survey final reports https://mdcoastalbays.org/the-programs/outreach/horseshoe-crab-surveys/
Video of baby horseshoe crabs (yes, they are adorable) https://fb.watch/mjsMoGOQqW/
Oceanic Motel https://oceanicoc.com/?/oceanic
Horseshoe Crab brochure—a great primer https://mdcoastalbays.org/app/uploads/2023/06/Horseshoe-Crab-Brochure.pdf