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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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