VOA科学技术2023--New Rules Aim to Protect Valuable Horseshoe Crabs

New Rules Aim to Protect Valuable Horseshoe Crabs²

New rules aim to protect horseshoe crabs, which are used in medical research, and also to support an endangered bird species.

Blue blood from horseshoe crabs is used by researchers to test for dangerous substances in vaccines³, medicines and medical devices. The animals are also used by fisherman as bait to catch eels⁴ and sea snails⁵.

In addition, the eggs of horseshoe crabs are an important food for an endangered bird called the red knot.

Scientists say horseshoe crabs have been living in ocean environments for more than 400 million years. But they are different from other crabs. They are more closely related to spiders and scorpions⁶. The animals have been decreasing in numbers in areas they live in, called habitats, along the U.S. East Coast.

The blue blood is taken from the animals for medical research. The process returns the crabs to the environment. But many die from the blood harvesting process.

Blood from the crabs can be manufactured into limulus amebocyte lysate, or LAL, a substance used to identify dangerous substances in some medications and vaccines.

Fishermen collect the crabs by hand or with special equipment on boats for use by biomedical companies. The blood – which contains immune cells sensitive to bacteria – is then separated and proteins are processed. It takes many crabs to produce enough blood to fill a single glass tube, which contains cells that are sensitive to bacteria.

New guidelines for dealing⁷ with horseshoe crabs were approved in May by the Atlantic States Marine⁸ Fisheries Commission. Industry officials said those changes should keep more crabs alive. But, in recent years, environmentalists brought attention to the issue of the horseshoe crabs, including their relationship to the red knot.

Red knots are birds that travel about 30,500 kilometers back and forth⁹ from South America to Canada. During their long trip, the birds must stop to eat along the way and horseshoe crabs are an important food.

Bethany Kraft is a coastal¹⁰ conservation specialist with the environmental organization the Audubon Society. Kraft told The Associated Press (AP) that red knots need horseshoe crab¹ eggs to give them enough fuel to complete their long flights. "There's very clear linkage¹¹ between horseshoe crabs and the survival of the red knot in the coming decades," she added.

Kraft said horseshoe crabs currently need stronger protection to survive. She and other wildlife conservationists have noted¹² the new guidelines are currently only voluntary. This, they say, still leaves the red knot at risk. They say the bird needs stronger legal protection.

The new guidelines urge best practices for the biomedical industry's harvesting and processing of the crabs. They include measures aimed at limiting exposure to sunlight and keeping crabs cool and wet.

Caitlin Starks is a fishery specialist with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. She told the AP the goal of the guidelines "is to give the crabs that are bled a better chance of surviving."

That is exactly what the new guidelines will do, said Nora Blair, an operations official with Charles River Laboratories. The company manufactures LAL from horseshoe crab blood. Blair was a member of a working group that created the new guidelines along with other industry groups.

Blair said the industry is working to find synthetic¹³ materials that could be used for biomedical research. Conservationists have been pushing for years for such a solution. Lonza, a Switzerland-based company that manufactures LAL, offers an animal-free testing solution.

But Blair said that, for now, the wild harvest of horseshoe crabs remains¹⁴ extremely important for drug safety. The animals play an important part in supplying and testing drugs and the coastal environment makes their conservation "imperative¹⁵," she added.

Words in This Story

species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

bait –n. a piece of foot that is used to catch fish or other animals

conservation – n. an organized effort that aims to protect animals, and natural resources

decade – n. a period of ten years

expose – v. to remove what is covering something so that it can be seen

synthetic – adj. a group of products made from artificial substances, often copying a natural product

imperative – adj. extremely important or necessary

1 crab   

n.螃蟹，偏航，脾气乖戾的人，酸苹果；vi.捕蟹，偏航，发牢骚；vt.使偏航，发脾气

参考例句：

• I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
• The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了，就象螃蟹的壳似的。

2 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

4 eels   

abbr. 电子发射器定位系统（=electronic emitter location system）

参考例句：

• Eels have been on the feed in the Lower Thames. 鳗鱼在泰晤士河下游寻食。
• She bought some eels for dinner. 她买回一些鳗鱼做晚餐。

5 snails   

n.蜗牛；迟钝的人；蜗牛( snail的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think I'll try the snails for lunch—I'm feeling adventurous today. 我想我午餐要尝一下蜗牛——我今天很想冒险。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Most snails have shells on their backs. 大多数蜗牛背上有壳。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 scorpions   

n.蝎子( scorpion的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You promise me that Black Scorpions will never come back to Lanzhou. 你保证黑蝎子永远不再踏上兰州的土地。 来自电影对白
• You Scorpions are rather secretive about your likes and dislikes. 天蝎：蝎子是如此的神秘，你的喜好很难被别人洞悉。 来自互联网

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

10 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

11 linkage   

n.连接；环节

参考例句：

• In their monographic treatment of linkage,they have emphasized this especially.他们在论连锁的专题文章中特别强调了这点。
• Occasionally,problems with block inheritance or linkage are encountered.有时会遇到区段遗传或连锁问题。

12 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

13 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。