904-530-6010
The County Insider
  • Home
  • About
  • Merits & Achievements
  • Contact Us
  • Library System
    • Storytime
    • Book Reviews

Nassau County, Florida

Welcome to beautiful Nassau County, located in the northeast corner of Florida along the Atlantic Ocean and Interstate 95. We are proud to serve as the Eastern Gateway to the Sunshine State. From our historic island, sandy beaches, and championship golf courses to our scenic rivers, green pastures, and majestic timberlands, we truly offer something for everyone.

Living Fossils Saving Lives

2/10/2021

0 Comments

 
Are you curious how a horseshoe crab is being used to test the COVID-19 vaccine? Check out this interesting story written by Justina Dacey, Natural Resources and Agriculture Agent for the Nassau County Extension Office.
Picture


The COVID-19 vaccine has slowly rolled out to states across the country. Behind the scenes an ancient marine creature with ten eyes, twelve legs and magical, milky blue blood is being utilized worldwide for testing vaccines and sterility of medical equipment.

​
The American horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) has been shuffling its spidery jointed legs along beaches and estuaries for over 445 million years (1). We’re talking millions of years older than dinosaurs. They are more closely related to spiders, than true crabs. Most beachgoers recognize them from their half-moon shaped shell (prosoma) and long sharp tail (telson). Unknowing tourists sometimes mistake their long telson as a stinger. It does not sting at all but allows the horseshoe crab to right itself if turned upside down by waves or predators.In the grand scheme of coastal ecology, horseshoe crabs are prey for sea turtles, crabs, fish and migrating shorebirds. Many migratory birds rely on their eggs to sustain arduous northern migration routes. One, in particular, the federally threatened rufa Red Knot (Calidris canutus rufa) migrates 9,000 miles from the tip of South America to the Canadian Arctic every spring. It is a route they time with peak horseshoe crab spawning activity (2). The rufa Red Knots competition comes in the form of a unique fishery on the Eastern United States. Fishermen collect live horseshoe crabs for pharmaceutical facilities to harvest one third to one half of their blood. After processing, they are re-released into the wild. Florida does not harvest horseshoe crabs for this purpose, but some are harvested as bait for an eel fishery (1).
​
Human health and blue blood
The horseshoe crab’s blue blood is highly sought after in the biomedical industry. If you’ve ever had a saline drip, flu shot, heart stent, epidural and you guessed it, the COVID-19 vaccine, a horseshoe crab was involved. Their blood is copper-based containing a compound that coagulates blood when exposed to bacterial contaminants or endotoxins. The compounds extracted are made into the “Limulus Amebocyte Lysate” or LAL test (1). Endotoxins can be deadly if minuscule amounts make their way into the bloodstream, which is why the LAL test is required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The high demand for the COVID-19 vaccine has conservationists concerned it will impact wild horseshoe crab and migratory shorebird populations. Bird conservation organizations are working on a solution. In recent years, other countries have developed a synthetic alternative recombinant Factor C (or rFC for short). Unfortunately, United States regulations have kept the standard LAL test, but the conservation groups are trying to change the use of the LAL test and transition to the synthetic versions. Only time will tell the outcome.
​
​
For now, next time you’re forming footprints along a sandy beach and witness a horseshoe crab scuttling along the tide’s edge, take a moment to appreciate the evolutionary adaptations living millions of years can provide and the humility that we rely on these living fossils to save humanity.
Resources:
  1. UF/IFAS Extension: The American Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus)
  2. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission: Facts About Horseshoe Crabs and FAQ
Picture
Justina can be reached at 904-530-6353 or via email at jdacey@ufl.edu.
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013

    Categories

    All
    2020 Census
    Affordable Housing
    American Beach
    American Rescue Plan
    Animal Control
    Around The County
    Beaches
    Bike Trails
    Board Vacancies
    Budget
    Building Department
    CARES
    Citizen Surveys
    Code Enforcement
    Community Outreac
    Contracts-Procurement
    County Awards
    County Extension/Agriculture Services
    County Manager
    County Oversight
    Emergency Mgmt
    Employee Achievements
    Engineering Services
    Environment
    Facilities
    FDOT
    Financial
    Fire Rescue
    Flags
    Grant Info
    Growth Management
    Health Department
    Job Opportunities
    Land Conservation
    Library
    Nassau Amelia Utilities
    Newsletters
    Not For Profits
    Planning
    Press Releases/Advisories
    Property Appraiser
    Public Works
    Railroad
    Recreation
    Recycling
    Resolutions
    School Board
    Senior Citizens
    Sheriff
    Solid Waste
    Special Events
    State Of Florida
    Supervisor Of Elections
    Tourism
    Transit Needs
    Tree Ordinance
    Veterans
    Video Projects
    Volunteer Opportunities
    Weather
    Week In Photos
    Wildlife

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly