A study conducted by Maryland Department of Natural Resources Biologist Dr. Joseph Love illuminates one of the biological factors that could be contributing to Chesapeake Channa’s efficient spread through Maryland’s waters. The study, published in the July 2024 edition of Northeastern Naturalist, found that the majority of female Chesapeake Channa, also known as northern snakehead, Read the Rest…
Something ancient is making its way onto the shores of Maryland – the annual spawning migration of horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus. The migration usually takes place from May through July, and its peak culminates with high tides on or around each full and new moon in May and June. Dating back an estimated 350 million Read the Rest…
A new study looks at the age at which female striped bass mature and how many eggs they produce as they age Two of the most important traits to understand fish population growth are the age at which females mature and their fecundity, or how many eggs they can produce at each age on average. Read the Rest…
Annual Event Spawns New Generation of ‘Living Fossils’ Maryland’s shores welcome back the annual return of the horseshoe crab – Limulus polyphemus — in one of the world’s oldest and largest wildlife migrations. For an estimated 350 million years, these prehistoric creatures have migrated into Maryland’s coastal bays from their winter habitats to spawn along Read the Rest…
People Can Help Protect Species on Ancient Spawning Run In the coming weeks, visitors to Maryland’s coastal bays and beaches can experience one of the world’s oldest migrations – horseshoe crabs emerging to spawn, as they’ve done here for the last 350 million years. Massive numbers of these “living fossils” will come out of the depths Read the Rest…
Beach Visitors Encouraged to Help Arthropods in Trouble Through the month of June, visitors to Maryland’s beaches can expect an astonishing sight – millions of horseshoe crabs will make their annual pilgrimage from the Atlantic Ocean to our shores. Dating back at least 350 million years, it’s one of the largest spawning events of horseshoe crabs in the Read the Rest…
