Horseshoe crabs evolved almost 450 million years ago and are considered the “living fossils” of our time, surviving ice ages, asteroids, and five mass extinctions. Today, they continue to serve an important role, both ecologically and economically, as their eggs provide sustenance for endangered shorebirds and their blue blood is used to advance biomedical research. Though they’ve endured these catastrophic events throughout Earth’s history, their population is in decline. Alison will discuss the importance of this elusive, prehistoric creature and how we can help it survive the next mass extinction.
Registration is required to attend in person or via Zoom.
To attend in person, please register in advance for this meeting at the bottom of the page.
To attend via Zoom, please register in advance for this meeting HERE
Alison Frye is the Associate Director at Salem Sound Coastwatch, where her primary focus is on coastal resilience and habitat restoration projects. She earned a BS in Biology from Bates College and a MS in Marine Biology from Northeastern University. There, her research focused on nature-based solutions for climate adaptation, specifically utilizing living shorelines to mitigate erosion in the Great Marsh. Before coming to SSCW, Alison was a long-time science teacher and continues to teach a marine and climate science course to high school seniors at Waring School in Beverly.
For the past eleven years, Underwater in Salem Sound has been jointly sponsored by Salem Sound Coastwatch and Abbot Public Library.
All the lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, please visit www.salemsound.org.
Photos courtesy of Salem Sound Coastwatch