horseshoe crab

Wildlife Photographer of the Year winners show the beauty — and precarity — of nature

11:34am October 11, 2023

by Rachel Treisman

The winning photographs star different species from around the world, all highlighting the interplay between animals and humans. The two grand titles went to shots of a horseshoe crab and barn owls.

Horseshoe crabs are bled alive at a facility in Charleston, S.C., in June 2014.

Environment

Vaccines are still tested with horseshoe crab blood. The industry is finally changing

11:00am September 23, 2023

by Chiara Eisner

The horseshoe crab bleeding industry is in transition. One biomedical company agreed to more oversight, and a regulatory group is paving the way for drug companies to use animal-free alternatives.

Horseshoe crabs are bled at a facility in Charleston, S.C., in June 2014.

Coastal biomedical labs are bleeding more horseshoe crabs with little accountability

11:58am June 10, 2023

by Chiara Eisner

Horseshoe crab blood is used to test vaccines around the world. But while Europe has approved a synthetic alternative, biomedical labs are bleeding more crabs from the Atlantic Coast.

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Drexel Siok, environmental scientist at Delaware National Estuarine Research Reserve, holds a horseshoe crab that's been tagged on Kitts Hummock Beach near Dover, Del. During the annual count volunteers make a note if they find a tagged crab. Researchers

It's Spawning Season: Are Horseshoe Crabs Down For the Count?

6:31pm June 10, 2015

by Jeff Brady

Migratory birds and humans have long relied on the odd creatures, and scientists now fear they're on the decline. This time each year, volunteers fan out along Mid-Atlantic coast to count the crabs.

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