[NatureNS] Why save the Red Knot? - vertebrate hegemony?

Date: Thu, 14 Feb 2008 10:22:05 -0400
From: iamclar@dal.ca
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All:

Steve makes some good points about our selective concern for creatures.  In
fact, most of the issues raised by him were raised by the PBS program (which I
believe I'd seen before - a re-run?). The program was about the plight of both
species, and well balanced.  They're not now caught for bait, and the 
issue for
the horsesho crabs is now the impact of catch and release (after bleeding for
pharmaceuticals) on their subsequent survival, which apparently is not well
understood.

The Red Knot subspecies rufa is probably the one we see most of here, 
and most,
but not all, come through the Delmarva area from S. America to feed on
Horseshoe Crab eggs en route to sw Nunavut. (Some Red Knots, indeed, winter
here. but are they known to be rufa? Maybe Susann Myers knows abouut 
this.) The
subspecies roselaari breeds in AK and migrates down the w. coast and winters
mostly in s. USA The subspecies canutus is widespread in the Old World, and
good numbers breed  in n. Nunavut (some think it is another subspecies
islandica) and migrate overseas to Europe-Africa, but some may winter 
in N. Am.
So, the Red Knot story is complicated, but there are lots of them out there
other than those gorging on horseshoe crab eggs.

The Horseshoe Crab is I believe more restricted in range: the US e. 
coast and W.
Asia (same species?).

It would be a great shame to lose or even greatly diminish, either species.

Cheers, Ian

Quoting Stephen Shaw <srshaw@dal.ca>:

> Unfortunately missed the program, but I had a mild comment on the species-ist
> emphasis here (sent it earlier but it didn't do through).


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