Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) reproductive activity on Delaware Bay beaches: Interactions with beach characteristics

We used results from a survey of horseshoe crab reproductive activity that was conducted in 1999 throughout Delaware Bay to examine the relationship between estimates of spawning females and egg deposition and analyze how that relationship varies with geography, time within a spawning season, beach morphology, and wave energy. We found that beach morphology and wave energy interacted with density of spawning females to explain variation in the density and distribution of eggs and larvae. For example, the quantity of eggs in surface sediment (i.e., eggs that are potentially available to foraging shorebirds) was associated with the density of spawning females, beach morphology, and wave energy. The association between beach morphology and live eggs in surface sediment was strong especially in late May (Percent Reduction in Error = 86% from regression tree model) where egg density was an order of magnitude higher on beaches