February 2004, Vol. 13, No. 2| Return to Table of Contents


Science News

From the Laboratory of Aquatic Biomedicine…

Dr. Carol Reinisch will continue her collaborative field research in Pictou, Nova Scotia, and Vancouver, British Columbia, funded by Environment Canada. The research examines the induction of leukemia in mussels exposed to industrial contaminants.

Publication:

Kreiling, J., R. Stephens, and C. Reinisch. 2004 (in press). A mixture of environmental contaminants increases PKA-RII in Spisula solidissima embryos. J. Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology.


From the Boston University Marine Program…

“You are what you eat, plus a few per mil.” This phrase refers to the remarkably consistent stable isotopic relationships between consumers and their food sources. These relationships allowed Dr. Ruth H. Carmichael and colleagues, working under Dr. Ivan Valiela with the Boston University Marine Program at the MBL, to define the position of horseshoe crabs as important predators in estuarine food webs. Carmichael determined where crabs foraged and what they ate in the subestuaries of Pleasant Bay, the largest embayment on Cape Cod. Isotopic ratios in horseshoe crabs and their foods suggest crabs were loyal to local foraging sites and did not forage in estuaries receiving >110 kg N ha-1 y-1. Isotopic ratios also revealed crabs ate a relatively consistent diet, composed of a variety of different species, regardless of foraging location. In the last few years, there has been increasing interest in protecting natural horseshoe crab populations or culturing crabs to restore potentially declining populations. The study conducted by Carmichael and colleagues provides data regarding how conservation of horseshoe crabs may affect abundance of other species, such as commercially harvested shellfish, and by demonstrating that water quality as well as a variety of prey may be essential to successful conservation and culture of horseshoe crabs. This important new information will be beneficial to management and conservation efforts.

Carmichael’s project is part of ongoing research by Dr. Valiela and his students to understand the population structure and ecology of horseshoe crabs in Cape Cod waters. Additional research has been funded by the MIT Sea Grant program to apply these and other data to develop management models for sustainable harvest of horseshoe crabs on Cape Cod and elsewhere.

Publication:

Carmichael, Ruth H., D. Rutecki, B. Annett, E. Gaines, and I. Valiela. 2004. Position of horseshoe crabs in estuarine food webs: N and C stable isotopic study of foraging ranges and diet composition. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 299:
231-253.

From Marine Resources …

Publications:

Frederick W. Goetz, Josep V. Planas, and Simon MacKenzie. 2004. Tumor necrosis factors. Developmental and Comparative Immunology 28: 487-497.

Mebane, W., S. B. Roberts, S. Lindell, and F. W. Goetz. 2004. Researchers develop low-tech recirculating culture system for quahog clams. Global Aquaculture Advocate 6: 35-36.