Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) Spawning...

HorseshoeCrab(Limuluspolyphemus)SpawningActivitySurveyProtocolfortheNewYorkStateMarineDistrict

QuadratProtocol

MatthewSclafani,CornellUniversityCooperativeExtension,Riverhead,NYKimMcKown,NYSDepartmentofEnvironmentalConservation,E.Setauket,NY

BarryUdelson,CornellUniversityCooperativeExtension,Riverhead,NY

www.NYhorseshoecrab.org

NewYorkStateDepartmentofEnvironmentalConservation

HORSESHOECRABSPAWNINGSURVEYFORNYMARINEDISTRICTThankyouforchoosingtoparticipateinourannualsurveyofspawninghorseshoecrabs.Yourhelpwiththisprojectiscrucialtoreachingourgoalsofdevelopingreliablesamplingmethodsfordatacollection,andtoacquirebiologicalinformationonhorseshoecrabsinNewYork’sMarineDistrict.ThisdatawillbeusedbytheNYSDepartmentofEnvironmentalConservationtohelpassessthestatusofhorseshoecrabsintheNYMarineDistrictandassistwiththemanagementandconservationofthisimportantspecies.Byparticipatinginthissurvey,youwillbehelpingtomeasurespawningabundance,size,andgathertaggingdataaroundfullandnewmooneventsfromMaytoJuly.Trainedsitecoordinatorswillbepresenttoteachyouhowtoassistwiththesurvey,however,itisimportantthatyoutakethetimetoreadthroughthisdocumentbeforehand.Bydoingso,youwillcomeproperlypreparedandallowthesurveytorunefficiently.Contents: 1.Thissetofinstructions. 2.DateofcensusandSamplingSchedules. 3.Datasheetsforrecordingobservations.Additionalfieldmonitoringequipmentthatisrequiredforthisprojectwillbeprovidedbysitecoordinators(Table1)onthenightofsampling.MonitoringprogramquestionsorcommentscanbedirectedtotheleadprojectcoordinatorsatCornellUniversityCooperativeExtension(631)727-7850x353;andNYSDEC,(631)444-0469.Also,visitourwebsite:www.NYhorseshoecrab.orgPREPARATIONFORTHESURVEY-IfyouareparticipatingdirectlythroughCornellCooperativeExtensionortheNYSDEC,youMUST fillout the“RiskWaiverForms” thatareavailableonourwebsite:www.NYhorseshoecrab.orgor fromthesitecoordinator.Ifyouplantoparticipateinthesurveymorethanonenight,youmustalsofillouttheconsent form for a background check (also found on the website). If you are participating throughanotherorganization,pleasebesuretofilloutanyoftheirrequiredformstoo. ClothingandAccessories:•Wearappropriateclothingfornightwalks.Foulweather,andwetconditionsatthewater'sedgemayrequireappropriateattire.Considerusingsunscreenduringthedayandinsectrepellentatnight.•IFTHUNDERSTORMSAREPRESENT,ORCONDITIONSAREUNSAFE,DONOTGOONTOBEACH.Thesitecoordinatorwilldetermineifthesurveyshouldbecancelled.•Bringaheadlamporflashlight.Headlampsareusefulbecausetheyfreeupbothhands.•Bringaclipboardorhardsurfacetowriteon.Also,bringacoupleofpencilsandasharpener.•Workglovesmaybeusefuliftherearehighdensitiesofhorseshoecrabsonthebeach,asyoumayhavetooccasionallyliftanimalsuptocountthoseunderneath.•NOBAREFEET!Shoesareanecessity.Werecommendrubberboots,watershoes,oroldsneakers.•Anaccuratewristwatchisneededforrecordingarrivaltime,surveystartingandfinishingtimes.•Cellphoneforemergenciesorcallingleadcoordinator(s)forassistancewithproblems.

SURVEYPROTOCOL

SETUP

• IfyouareparticipatingdirectlythroughCornellCooperativeExtensionortheNYSDEC,youMUSTfilloutthe“RiskWaiverForms”thatareavailableonourwebsite:www.NYhorseshoecrab.orgorfromthesitecoordinator.If,however,youareparticipatingthroughanotherorganization,pleasebesuretofilloutanyoftheirrequiredformstoo.

• Thesurveyprotocol,aerialphotoanddrivingdirectionstothesurveysitesarealsoavailableon

ourwebsiteandfromthesitecoordinator.

• Youwillbesurveyingingroupsofatleasttwopeople(e.g.minimumofaSiteCoordinatorandoneparticipant).

• Pleasenotethatchildrenundertheageof18mustbeaccompaniedbytheirparentoralegal

guardian.

• Arriveatthedesignatedbeachatleast30minutespriortothescheduledsampletimetomeettheSiteCoordinator(seeourwebsiteforsamplingschedules).Pleaseaccessthesamplelocationsfromtheappropriateareaswehaveindicatedonourwebsite.Thesitecoordinatorscanalsoprovideanyspecificinstructionsforyourlocationifneeded.RecordthetimeyouarriveinthespacemarkedARRIVALTIMEontheDataSheets.

• Whensurveying,filloutasmuchoftheSurveyDataformsaspossible.Addressesandphone

numbersofeachsurveyteammemberareimportantincasewehavequestionsaboutthedata.Note:eveniftheweatherpreventsyoufromdoingthesurvey,pleasefilloutthesurveysheetwithallpossibleinformationandexplainwhythesurveycouldnotbecompleted.

• EntertherequiredenvironmentaldataontheSurveyDataFormbeforestartingthehorseshoe

crabcounts.

• Eachbeachwillbesampledalongatransectthatwillbepre-markedwithsignspostsindicatingthebeginningandendpointsofthesurveysite.

• Tosurveythehorseshoecrabs,youwillstartatoneendofthemarkedsectionofbeach.Flipacoin

todecidewhichendofthebeachyouwillstart(StartPoint):ifheads,startatthestakefurthestwest(ornorth);iftails,startatthestakefurthesteast(orsouth).CircleStartingPointLocationontheDataSheet.

• Atexactlythescheduled“starttime”(Seesitetables),youshouldbegincountingspawning

horseshoecrabsatthe‘StartPoint’.RecordyourstarttimeontheDataSheetwhereitsaysSTARTOFSURVEY.

I.CountingHorseshoeCrabsA)QuadratMethodDetermineyouraveragepacepermeter:Beforeusingthe“QuadratMethod”,youwillneedtodetermineyourpacepermeter.Pleasetrytodothiswellinadvanceofthescheduledsurveytime,andpreferablyonabeachsincepacelengthisaffectedbythesurfaceyouarewalkingon.Thisshouldtake15-20minutestocomplete.Note:Eachpersononlyhastodeterminehisorherpaceoncefortheseason.

1. Laythe20-meter(66feet)stringoutstraightontheground.YouwillusethistofilloutthePacingTrialFormfoundinthisdocument.

2. Countthenumberofpacesittakesyoutowalkthelengthofthestringusingyournormalstride.Rememberthatourprotocoldefinesapaceasasinglestep.EnterthisnumberinthespacenexttoTRIAL1onthePacingTrialForm.

3. Repeatthisprocesstwicemore.EnterthesecondnumbernexttoTRIAL2andthethirdnumbernexttoTRIAL3.

4. ThesethreenumbersareA,B,andConthePacingTrialForm.AddA,B,andC,anddividethisnumberbythreetofindD;youraveragenumberofpacesper20meters.

5. DivideDby20tofindyouraveragenumberofpacespermeter(Eontheform).Note:Theaveragenumberofpacespermeterisprobablydifferentforeachperson,becauseitdependsonyourstridelength.Itisimportantyoudothisandknowthesenumbersbeforeyouarriveatthebeachifpossible.B)SamplingwiththeQuadratMethodAftercompletingthePaceTrialForm,youcanbegintocounthorseshoecrabsusingtheQuadratMethod.Ifthereisonly1observerand1recorder(i.e.a“SingleSurveyTeam”),thenusetheprotocoldescribedhere.Ifthereareenoughvolunteerstoform2separatesurveyteams,thenskiptothenextsection“TwoSurveyTeams”below.Thesitecoordinatorwillhelpdecidethis.SingleSurveyTeam

1. ThequadratsontheDataSheetarenumbered1-100forrecording(page16).Ifthebeachsectionis1kilometer(km)*,choosetworandomnumbersfrom0mto19m(userandomnumbertableintheAppendix)tolocatetheplacementofthe1stand2ndquadratswithinthefirst20mstretchofthebeach.Thenpace20mfromeachrandomstartingpointtoplacethe3rdand4thquadratsinthenextconsecutive20minterval.Continueinthiswayuntilyouhavesampled100quadrats.

1. *Note:Ifthebeachsectionisshorterthan1km:Dividethelengthofthebeachsectionby50to

findthedistancebetweeneveryquadrat.Forexample,ifthebeachis400m;400m/50=8.Thismeansevery8mstretchofbeachyoupace,youwillplace2quadrats.Choose2randomnumbersfrom0to7tolocatetheplacementofthe1stand2ndquadratswithinthefirststretchofthebeach.Continueinthiswayuntilyouhavesampled100quadrats.

2. Whenyouhavepacedtothecorrectquadratlocation,placethequadratatthetoeofyourlaststep.

Placeonesideofthequadratevenwiththelineofhorseshoecrabsandtheoppositesidetowardsthebay.Oncethequadratisinplace,youwillcounthorseshoecrabs(see:“HowtoCountHorseshoeCrabsinaQuadrat”sectionc.belowformoredetails).

3. Onceyouaredonecountingandallinformationisrecorded,pickupthequadrat,andpacetothe

nextquadrat.Beginpacingfromthetoeofyourlaststep.4. Itistheobserver'sresponsibilitytomakesuretherecordergetsallthetalliesbeforepacingtothe

nextquadrat.TwoSurveyTeams(Skipthissectionifusingthesinglesurveyteammethodabove)Ifthereareenoughvolunteersfortwosurveyteams(2observers,2recordersand2quadrats),itmaybeeasierto“leapfrog”,withteamBpacingaheadofteamA.AfterteamAcountstheirquadrat,theywillpaceaheadofteamB.Thiscontinuesuntil100quadratsarecounted(50perTeam-TeamAwiththeodddataentriesandTeamBwiththeevendataentries).Itisimportantthatbothteamspacethesamedistancebetweenquadrats.Thisisdescribedinmoredetailwiththefollowingprotocol:

1. ThequadratsontheTallySheetarenumbered1-100.Ifthebeachsectionis1kilometer(km)*:Choosetworandomdistancesfrom0mto19mtolocatethe1stquadratsforTeamAandTeamBwithinthefirst20mstretch.Theneachteamwillpace20mfromtherandomstartingpointtoplacethe3rd(TeamA)and4th(TeamB)quadratsinthenextconsecutive20mstretch.Theteamswillcontinueto“leapfrog”inthiswayuntiltheyhavesampled100quadrats(50perteam).

Note:Ifthebeachsectionisshorterthan1km:Dividethelengthofthebeachsectionby50tofindthedistancebetweeneveryotherquadrat.Forexample,ifthebeachis400m,400/50=8.Withineach8mstretchofbeacheachteamwillplaceonequadrat.Tostart,choose2randomdistancesfrom0to7tolocatethe1stquadratsforTeamsAandBwithinthefirst8mstretchforeachteam.Teamswillcontinuetoleapfrogeachotherbyplacingevenlyspacedquadratsuntiltheyhavesampled100quadrats(50perteam-TeamAwiththeodddataentriesandTeamBwiththeevendataentries).

2. Whenyouhavepacedtothecorrectquadratlocation,placethequadratatthetoeofyourlaststep.

Placeonesideofthequadratevenwiththelineofhorseshoecrabsandtheoppositesidetowardsthebay.Oncethequadratisinplace,youwillcounthorseshoecrabs(see:“HowtoCountHorseshoeCrabsinaQuadrat”sectionc.belowformoredetails).

3. Onceyouaredonecountingandallinformationisrecorded,pickupthequadrat,andpacetothe

nextquadrat.Beginpacingfromthetoeofyourlaststep.4. Itistheobserver'sresponsibilitytomakesuretherecordergetsallthetalliesbeforepacingtothe

nextquadrat.IftheObserverloosestrackofwhichpaceintervaltheyareon,aneasywaytocheckistoasktherecorderwhichquadratnumberyouaresamplingnext.Ifitisan“odd”number,usethefirstpacestep

c.HowtoCountHorseshoeCrabsinaQuadratOncethequadratisinplacetrynottomoveitagainuntilyouaredonecounting.

• Youwillcountallhorseshoecrabs“inthequadrat.”Ahorseshoecrabisconsidered'inthequadrat'ifmorethanhalfofitsbodyisinsidethequadrat.

• Whentherearenumerousanimals,youmayhavetoliftsomeuptoassureyou'vecountedallof

thoseunderneath.Heavyworkgloveswillbeusefulforthis.Trytominimizedisturbancetothe

spawninghorseshoecrabs.Spawningfemaleswillbepartiallyburiedinthesandwhilelayingeggs.DONOTLIFTUPAPARTIALLYBURIEDHORSESHOECRAB.

• Counttheanimalsofeachsexseparately.Ifafemalehorseshoecrabisnotburied,thetwomost

commonwaystodetermineitssexareitssizeandposition.Malesare,forthemostpart,smallerand'clasped'orcrowdingontopoffemales.Therealsotendstobemoremalesthanfemales.

• ReportyourcountofeachsextotherecorderwhowillrecordtheinformationunderTOTALon

theTallySheet.Iftherecorderisworkingwithanotherobserver,keepthetallyinyourheaduntiltherecordercanrecordthequadratcountsforyou.Don'tpickupthequadratandmovetothenextquadratlocationuntilyouknowtherecorderhasrecordedallinformationforyourpresentquadrat.

• Reportzero(0)whentherearenohorseshoecrabswithinthequadrat.Donottrytomovethe

quadratfromthepre-selectedquadratlocationjusttoincludeoneormorenearbyanimals.Emptyquadratsarejustasimportantasthosewithhorseshoecrabs.

II.ButtonTaggingandMeasuringHorseshoeCrabSizeSetup:Aftercompletingthespawningcount,theSiteCoordinatorwillleadthebuttontaggingandsize(prosomawidth)measurementsonhorseshoecrabs.

1. TheHORSESHOECRABTAGGING&SIZEDATAFORMmustbeusedtorecordallsizeandtagginginformation.

2. Whentaggingandmeasuringhorseshoecrabsizepleaseobservethesegeneralrules:a. DoNOTgointhewatertocollectanimals.b. Youcanmeasureandpossiblytagafemalehorseshoecrabthatispartiallyburiedinthe

sandandnotyetdepositingeggs(i.e.startingtonestonly),butdonotmoveher.c. Ifyoumeasureamatingpair,donotseparatethem.d. NEVERliftormoveahorseshoecrabbyits’tail.e. Returnanycrabsthatweremovedduringthisprocess,facingdown-slopeinthe“Surf

Zone”withlegsinsand.3. Theteamwillwalkfromthe“EndPoint”backtowardthe“StartPoint”andtrytotagandsizeas

manymaleandfemalehorseshoecrabsalongthetransectaspossible,orastimepermits.Arecommendedminimumnumberforsizemeasurementsandtaggingis:20malesand20females,butdoasmanyastheteamfeelstheycanmanageorpermittedtodobyaregulatoryagency

4. ONLYconsidertaggingandmeasuringcrabsthatareaboveorwithintheSurfZone.NEVERcollectanycrabsthatarefullysubmergedtotagorsize.

ButtonTaggingProtocol:Crabsthatwillbetaggedandsizedcangentlybemanipulated,butusingonlytheprosoma(headregion).

• Thesitecoordinatorwillleadthetaggingeffortandbethe‘Observer’.• The‘Recorder”willusetheDataformentitled:“TaggingandSize”torecorddata.• Tagswillbeattachedtotheleftposterior(rear)pointoftheprosoma(firstsectionofbody,see

Figure2)forbothmaleandfemalehorseshoecrabs.Itmayfirstbenecessarytocleanoffanyepibionts(barnacles,etc.)neartheattachmentsite.

• The‘Observer’willindicatethesexoftheindividualandthenstatethe“TagIdentificationNumber”fortheRecordertowriteonthedataform.

• ThebuttonTagisattachedbycarefullycreatingasmall(5/32")holeontheLEFTsideoftheprosomanearthedorsaledgewithahanddriver.Thetagisthenpushedintotheholeasfarasitwillgo(itshouldNOTgoallthewaythroughtheprosomaandcomeouttheotherside).Onlyattachonetagperanimal.Iftheanimalisdamagedneartheattachmentarea,attachthetagtotheoppositeside,ordonottagit.

• TheObserverwillthenmeasuretheSizeofthetaggedindividualasdescribedbelow(Pleasenotethatyoucanmeasuresizefirstandthentag).

SizeProtocol:Sizecanberecordedaspartofthetaggingprocess,andalsoifnoanimalsaregoingtobetaggedthatevening.

1. TheRecorderwillusetheDataformentitled“TaggingandSize”.2. TheObserverwillmeasureprosomawidth(size)ofthehorseshoecrab(Figure2).3. Size:TheObserverwillusecaliperstomeasure(centimeters)thehorseshoecrab’sprosomaatthe

widestpoint(Figure2,typicallyalittlebehindthelargecompoundeyes)onthedorsalside(i.e.crab’slegsfacingdowninsand).

4. TheRecorderwillwritethesize(centimeters)ontheappropriatedatasheet.5. Ifafemaleisburied,useyourhandstogentlyexcavateenoughsandaroundtheprosomato

measurewiththecalipers,andthenreplacethesand.However,doNOTremovethecrabsfromthesandtoattainameasurement.

6. Repeatthisprocessonallcrabsthatweretagged.Ifnotaggingwasdone,sizemeasuresshouldberecordedonasmanyindividualsastimeallows(e.g.20malesand20females).

Remember:Donotgointothewatertocollectanimals,donotmoveafemalethatisnesting(buriedinthesand),donotseparatematingpairs.Pleasealsoplacethecrabsbackinthe“SurfZone”facingdown-slopeiftheyweremovedabovethewaterlineduringthesemeasurements.Figure2.Sizemeasurementsandplacementofbuttontagonhorseshoecrabs.

AdditionalNotes:

• Whentherearenumerousanimals,youmayhavetoliftsomeuptoassureyou'vecountedallofthoseunderneath.Heavyworkgloveswillbeusefulforthis.DoNOTremoveaspawningfemalethatisburiedinthesand,orlifthorseshoecrabsbytheirtails.

• Ifthereisanobstructionordiscontinuationinthebeachsection(largedebris,largeboulder,etc),

paceuptotheobstruction,walktotheothersideofit,andthencontinueyoursurveycountontheotherside.PleaseindicatethetypeofobstructionandsizeontheDataSheet.

• Reportzero(0)whentherearenohorseshoecrabsonthebeach.Ifyouobservehorseshoecrabs

thatarefullysubmergedandnotpartofthespawningclusterinthe“SurfZone”,youcanchoosetorecordtheinformation,butNEVERgointothe‘Submerged’Areastocount.Zerocountsarejustasimportantasthosewithhorseshoecrabspresentbecausetheywillreflectchangesintheabundance.

Whenyouarefinishedsurveying:RecordthetimeinthespacemarkedENDOFSURVEYontheDataSheet.SendallORIGINALDatasheetstotheaddressbelow(Note:PLEASEDONOTSENDAFAXONLY.WENEEDTHEORIGINALDATASHEETS!).PleasemakeabackupphotocopyoftheDataSheetbeforemailingtheoriginaltousat:MatthewSclafaniCornellUniversityCooperativeExtension423GriffingAve.Riverhead,NY11901Phone:(631)727-7850Fax:(631)727-7130Email:ms332@cornell.edu

Table1.SiteCoordinatorcontacts.Pleasecontactthesitecoordinatorsforthelocationsthatyouwishtovolunteeratpriortothenightofsampling.Ifyouhaveanydifficulties,pleasecontactanyoftheprincipalcoordinators.

Principal Project Coordinators Barry Udelson Sherryll Jones Matthew Sclafani

631-727-7850, x365; bu25@cornell.edu 631-727-7850 x353; sj497@cornell.edu 631-727-7850, x377; ms332@cornell.edu

Sampling Sites Coordinators Contact Information Big Egg, Brooklyn Debra Kriensky 617-835-3000;email:dkriensky@nycaudubon.org

Calvert Vaux & Kaiser Park, Brooklyn Ellen Hartig 212-360-1481; email: Ellen.Hartig@parks.nyc.gov

Captree, Babylon Peter Walsh 631-581-6908;email:Pwalsh@seatuck.org

Enrico Nardone 631-487-0071;email:egnardone@seatuck.orgCenterport Yacht Club Susan Hirshman hirschmarine@aim.com

Conference House Park, Staten Island Karen Roos 718-667-7475 ext 1; email: Karen.Roos@parks.nyc.gov

John Kilcullen email: john.kilcullen@parks.nyc.gov

Crab Meadow Virginia Mallon-Ackerman 631-262-1487;email:virginiamallon@yahoo.com

Dead Horse Bay, Brooklyn Christine Nealy 646-648-2326; email:Christine.Nealy@trinityschoolnyc.org Debra Kriensky 617-835-3000;email:dkriensky@nycaudubon.org

Fishers Island Carol Giles email: c.giles@fischool.com Great Kills Park, Staten Island Kathy Garofalo 718-354-4655; email: kathy_garofalo@nps.gov

Jones Beach, Wantagh Suzanne Montefinise 516-780-3295;email:Suzanne.Montefinise@parks.ny.gov

Mt. Sinai Harbor Patrick McKeown email: pmckeown214@gmail.com

Oyster Bay (Beekman & TR) Cameron Jenness 516-922-7245ext24;email:Cameron@thewaterfrontcenter.org

Pikes Beach, Westhampton Gina Mulhearn 631-288-8014;email:ginamulhearn@gmail.comMark Cappiello cappiellomark@yahoo.com

Plum Beach East, Brooklyn Debra Kriensky 617-835-3000;email:dkriensky@nycaudubon.orgPlum Beach West, Brooklyn Phil Cusimano Email:philip_cusimano@msn.com

South Harbor Rd., Southold Jessica Kennelly 631-765-6450ext215;email:jkennelly@eastendenvironment.orgChristine Tylee 631-765-6450ext208;email:ctylee@eastendenvironment.org

Squire Pond, Hampton Bays Brian Frank 631-324-2178;email:brifrank@optonline.net

West Meadow Beach, Stony Brook Phylis Chin PChin@theofficeworx.comFrank Chin 631-689-1080;email:frank.chin@sunysb.edu

PACING TRIAL FORM (Please try to complete prior to the survey) (USEDFORQUADRATSAMPLINGMETHOD-SITECOORDINATORWILLLEADTHISEFFORT) DATE:___________________ NAME:_______________________________________ NUMBEROFPACESITTAKESTOWALK20METERSORAPPROXIMATELY66FEET:(note:1pace=1step) TRIAL1=_____________(A) TRIAL2=_____________(B) TRIAL3=_____________(C) AVERAGEPACESPER20METERS(SingleTeam): TOTAL(A+B+C)=_____________/3=______________(D)PACESPER20METERS NUMBEROFPACESPERMETER: (D)______________/20=________________(E)PACESPERMETER RETURNTHISFORMWITHTALLYSHEETSANDBEACHSITESHEETTO: Dr.MatthewSclafani CornellCooperativeExtensionofSuffolkCounty 423GriffingAve.Riverhead,NY11901 TEL.(631)727-7850