Balancing Conservation and Human Interactions with Nature: The Red Knot and the Atlantic Horseshoe Crab | All Swell?

December 27, 2022

So what's the deal with Horseshoe Crabs? Find out here!

The Duke All Swell? team is joined by Dr. David Mizrahi, Vice President of Research and Monitoring at New Jersey Audubon. David is also one of the founders of the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition, an organization dedicated to ensuring the future of the American Horseshoe Crab. In this episode we hear from David about the surprising connection between two species: the Atlantic horseshoe crab and an endangered shorebird, the Red Knot. We learn about Red Knot migration, their reliance on horseshoe crab eggs, and how human industries have interfered with these populations. David shares insight about how the Coalition is working to protect the American horseshoe crab and how listeners can get involved.

To learn more about the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition, visit https://hscrabrecovery.org/.

For more about New Jersey Audubon, visit https://njaudubon.org/.

Show Transcription
This transcription was generated by a computer. Please excuse any errors.
Genevieve “GG” Guerry, Kyra Hagge, Rory Kuczek, Kathryn Lienhard, and Nat Blackford

American Shoreline Podcast Network teamed up with graduate and professional students from student chapters of The Coastal Society to highlight voices in coastal science and management. Together they’ve created All Swell?, an innovative podcast that dives into current ocean and coastal issues, their potential solutions, and the people leading the way toward a more resilient future. The podcast creators and hosts this year are from East Carolina University and Duke University. Genevieve “GG” Guerry and Kyra Hagge are Ph.D. candidates at East Carolina. GG is interested in public health and aims to work on the public perception of forever chemicals such as PFAS in the Cape Fear watershed and climate migration. Kyra is integrating behavioral economics and social psychology with hydrogeology to tackle questions about pro-environmental behavior and adoption of green technology along the coast of North Carolina. Kathryn Lienhard, Nat Blackford, and Rory Kuczek are Master of Environmental Management students at Duke University Nicholas School of the Environment. Kathryn is interested in coastal resilience, ecosystem restoration, and community engagement. She is currently working at Duke’s Marine Lab in Beaufort, NC. Nat is interested in how we manage our coastal ecosystems - from coastal forests to marshes to seagrass meadows. These coastal environments are some of the most densely populated areas on the planet, have huge ecological and cultural significance, and sequester and store large amounts of carbon. Aurora Kuczek, is a master of Environmental Management student at Duke University studying Ecosystem Science and Conservation. She is interested in coastal restoration, particularly as it relates to wildlife conservation, and how local communities can get involved in restoration processes to make real change for their environments they are closely intertwined with and rely upon to survive.