Choice I don't remember making.

The drama between the red knots and the horseshoe crabs.

           The wonderful thing about living here on earth is that every single organism cannot live without the existence of another. They generally exhibit relationship between them in such a way that one is benefitted and the other is harmed, or otherwise. It can also happen that no one is harmed but both are used to such manner. It puts a smile on my face that this process, or relationship is not just an accident, this is nature. But nature is changing rapidly now, that deletes the good mark on my face.

                Consider the red knot and horseshoe crab for instance. Red knots feed on the eggs of horseshoe crabs; they depend strongly in these crabs. A red knot is a kind of bird that has short dark legs and a medium thin dark bill. The basic, plumage becomes uniformly pale grey, and is similar between the sexes. Red knots are tactile feeders, probing for unseen prey in the mud. Their feeding techniques include the use of shallow of shallow probes into the mud while pacing along the shore. When the tide is ebbing, they tend to peck at the surface and in soft mud they may probe and plough forward with the bill inserted to about a centimeter depth. They nests on the ground, near water, and usually inland. The nest is a shallow scrape lined with leaves, lichens and moss. Males construct three to five nest scrapes in their territories prior to the arrival of the females. The female lays three or more usually four eggs, apparently laid over the course of six days. Every year, they migrate for about 9000 miles; they stop and rest on some places to look for food. They need more energy for travelling. They have to look for food, especially the eggs of the crabs. If they found lots of these, they actually look bigger and if not, they look skinny.

                The horseshoe crabs are bits scary too look at, but they are harmless. They live primarily in shallow ocean waters on soft sandy or muddy bottoms. They occasionally come to shore for mating and laying their eggs. During the breeding season, horseshoe crabs migrate to shallow coastal waters. Males select a female and cling onto her back. The female digs a hole in the sand and lays her eggs while the male fertilizes them. The eggs take about 2 weeks to hatch. The larvae molt six times during the first year. Unlike humans, horseshoe crabs do not have hemoglobin in their blood, but instead use hemocyanin to carry oxygen. Because of the copper present in hemocyanin, their blood is blue. Their blood contains amebocytes , which play role similar to white blood cells for vertebrates in defending the organism against pathogens. Horseshoe crabs are use as bait to fish for eels and whelks, mostly in the Unites States.

                You see, they exhibit relationship. The horseshoe crabs don’t really care but hopes that their eggs will hatch and continue to reproduce. The red knots really depend on them, so without the horseshoe crabs, how would they travel? This is nature. And I think it should remain to be like this. Let us not be the reason for this process to stop. I really hope not.

(Source: clyff)