Long Island Horseshoe Crab Network Issues Alert Dowling College: News
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Long Island Horseshoe Crab Network Issues Alert

Seeks Help From All Long Island Residents To Track Species

To find out if the horseshoe crab population on Long Island is dwindling, as has been reported by some experts, the Long Island Horseshoe Crab Network, headed by Dr. John T. Tanacredi, Chairman of the Department of Earth and Marine Sciences at Dowling College, will conduct the third year of a Super-Inventory of Horseshoe Crabs (HSC) on Long Island, from the tip of Montauk to the tip of Brooklyn.

"Over the last 10 years there has been considerable controversy over the extent to which horseshoe crab harvesting has impacted the species' existence," explained Dr. Tanacredi. "It is general knowledge that HSC habitat covers from the coast of Maine to Florida, with Long Island historically having a robust population of HSC. Anecdotal information from 'coast-wise' people have recently expressed concerns that once large numbers of HSC observed each year, are today a mere skeletal population."

The HSC Network invites everyone to join in and help protect a species 350 million years in the making. Anyone sighting a live horseshoe crab is asked to provide details via an online field report form here. Anyone with questions on horseshoe crabs can contact Dr. Tanacredi at 631-244-3394.

About Dowling College

Dowling College is an independent, coeducational college that serves more than 6,500 students at its historic Rudolph Campus on the banks of the Connetquot River in Oakdale, NY, and the 105-acre Brookhaven Campus in eastern Long Island and a business center located near the Nassau-Suffolk border in Melville. Dowling offers Bachelor′s, Master′s, and Doctoral degrees in several disciplines through its four schools: Arts and Sciences, Aviation, Business, and Education.