Christmas Island Red Crab Facts

The Christmas Island red crab (Gecarcoidea natalis) is a land crab famous for its epic annual mass migration to the sea to spawn. Once numerous on Christmas Island, crab numbers have been devastated by the accidental introduction of the yellow crazy ant. Fast Facts: Christmas Island Red Crab Scientific Name: Gecarcoidea natalisCommon Name: Christmas Island red crabBasic Animal Group: InvertebrateSize: 5 inchesLifespan: 20-30 yearsDiet: OmnivoreHabitat: Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) IslandsPopulation: 40 millionConservation Status: Not evaluated Description Christmas Island red crabs are large crabs with bodies measuring 4.6 inches in width. Males tend to be larger than females, with larger claws and a narrower abdomens. They have claws of equal size, unless one has been damaged and has regenerated. The crabs are usually bright red, but orange or purple crabs sometimes occur. Red crabs on their annual migration. Â  Mlenny / Getty Images Habitat and Distribution Red crabs are endemic to Christmas Island (Australia), in the Indian Ocean. Relatively recently, the species immigrated to the nearby Cocos (Keeling) Islands, but the number of crabs on the Cocos Islands is much lower than on Christmas Island. Christmas Island red crab distribution map. TUBS /Â  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license Diet The crabs are omnivorous scavengers. They feed on fruit, seedlings, fallen leaves, flowers, human rubbish, the giant African land snail, and dead animals. They also cannibalize other Christmas Island red crabs. Behavior Most of the year, Christmas Island red crabs live in the forest. They usually hide under branches or leaves on the forest floor or inside rocky outcrops. These areas help protect them from predators and keep them moist. Reproduction and Offspring Christmas Island red crabs reach sexual maturity around 4 and 5 years of age. At the beginning of the rainy season (October to November), the crabs increase activity and travel to the coast for spawning. The timing is linked to the phase of the moon. Males reach the shore first and dig burrows. When the females arrive, the crabs mate in these burrows. After mating, the males return to the forest, while the females remain another two weeks. They release their eggs into the water at the turn of high tide on the last quarter of the moon and then head back to the forest. The eggs immediately hatch upon contact with the water and are swept out to sea by the tide. The larvae remain at sea for 3 to 4 weeks, molting several times until they reach the megalopae stage. The megalopae cluster near the shore for a day or two before molting into small 0.2-inch crabs and journeying inland. Crabs molt several times as juveniles, but usually once a year as adults. Based on the life expectancy of related crabs, the Christmas Island red crab probably lives 20 to 30 years. Red Crab megalopae before emerging from the water at Christmas Island. Â  Kirsty Faulkner / Getty Images Conservation Status As of 2018, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had not evaluated the Christmas Island red crab for a conservation status. Crab population numbers have plummeted due to invasion by the yellow crazy ant. The yellow crazy ant displaces and kills crabs. In the 1990s, the population of red crabs was estimated to be 43.7 million. Estimates of losses due to ants range from 10 million to 40 million. Researchers are hoping the introduction of a Malaysian wasp may give the crabs a chance to recover. The wasps eat the ants, so crabs in the test area can dig mating burrows in areas once infested with ants. Threats Ants are not the only threat Christmas Island red crabs face. They are preyed upon by coconut crabs. Entire generations of larvae may be eaten by fish, whale sharks, and manta rays, but the few times larvae survive, there have been enough to maintain the crab population. Christmas Island Red Crabs and Humans Red crabs cross roads during their annual breeding migration. The crab exoskeletons can puncture tires, plus the crabs die from being crushed. Park rangers have set up crab fences to direct the crustaceans to protected underpasses and bridges. The Christmas Island red crabs are protected by law and people are more aware of their plight, so drivers tend to be respectful of the animals during their migration. Sources Adamczewska, A. M. and S. Morris. Ecology and behaviour of Gecarcoidea natalis, the Christmas Island red crab, during the annual breeding migration. The Biological Bulletin. 200 (3): 305–320, June, 2001. doi:10.2307/1543512Dittrich, Stephanie. How a Wasp Might Save the Christmas Island Red Crab. Island Conservation. January 24, 2019.Hicks, John W. Red Crabs: On the March on Christmas Island. National Geographic. Vol. 172 no. 6. pp. 822–83, December, 1987.ODowd, Dennis J.; Green, Peter T. P. S. Lake (2003). Invasional meltdown on an oceanic island. Ecology Letters. 6 (9): 812–817, 2003. doi:10.1046/j.1461-0248.2003.00512.xWeeks, A.R.; Smith, M.J.; van Rooyen, A.; Maple, D.; Miller, A.D. A single panmictic population of endemic red crabs, Gecarcoidea natalis, on Christmas Island with high levels of genetic diversity. Conservation Genetics. 15 (4): 909–19, 2014. doi:10.1007/s10592-014-0588-x

The Evolution of Same-Sex Marriage - 976 Words

Supporters call it marriage equality, and opponents refer to it as â€Å"redefining† marriage. The issue of legalizing same-sex marriage has evolved over the years. Same-sex marriage and the fight to legalize it publically started in 1972 in the ‘Baker v. Nelson’ Supreme Court case, which involved a Minnesota couple that was denied a marriage license. The couple ended up taking their issue to court but their trial was dismissed because the Supreme Court stated that the clerk was allowed to refuse same-sex couples a marriage license. This case sparked what would be a long debate that would last over 40 years in the United States. What prompts the past and present interest in the issue are same-sex couples and their friends and family who want them to be happy and want them to be able to marry the person they love while receiving the same benefits as a heterosexual couple does. The people that are currently interested in this issue are members of the LGBT community and people who believe that marriage should be equal to all American citizens because they believe it is an American’s right to be able to choose to marry the person they love. Marriage equality is one of the most significant issues in the United States. It is one of the most discussed reforms in the U.S. court systems. If legalized, it would be the most revolutionary policy decisions in America’s history, along with interracial marriage, women’s rights and slavery. The three positions that I will be writing on in thisShow MoreRelatedLegalization of Gay Marriage1319 Words   |  6 PagesSEM I SPEECH PREPARATION OUTLINE PREPARED BY: REGINA KHOR MAY LIN AA09179 Relationship Should we legalize same-sex marriage in our country? To persuade To persuade my audience that we should legalize same-sex marriage in our country. 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Mark strand Free Essays

So the poet I decided to do this on is Mark Strand. He was born in Canada in 1934 and grew up in different places in the United States. He studied at several universities including Antioch Ohio college, Yale, also the University of Florence on a Fulbright fellowship where he studied 19th century Italian poetry. We will write a custom essay sample on Mark strand or any similar topic only for you Order Now When he was a child, he actually wasn’t considered bright. He was a painter while studying at Yale, and a lot of people say that he creates a â€Å"painterly’ image in his poetry because of the way he closely examines things. I found it really interesting that in an interview he said that he wasn’t good with language as a child, and so the idea that he would one day become a poet would come as a huge shock for his family growing up. Strand felt deeply connected with the painter Edward Hopper. He wrote a book about his works, explaining the paintings in very expressive details. Strand definitely has a way of showing his passion for both art and poetry and combining the two. Hopper was considered a very misunderstood, realist painter and Strand said that he eally connected with his â€Å"strangeness† and feels influenced by it. Strand’s poetry has a very simple language to it. It sometimes borders on something beyond reality, in the way that he perceives the world. He wrote a lot of poems about dreams and disassociation from the world. He’s written 14 books of poetry. He also writes a lot of life and death. Death, being what he considers the main point in lyrical poetry. What I really connect with Is the rhythm of this poem first of all. I actually enjoyed a ot of other poems by Strand but after we looked at Fishing on the susehanna river by Billy Collins, this intrigued me because it reminded me of that similar rhythm. I enjoy the repetition that things will always end but then continue to go on and return again. Theres this sadness in the earlier stanzas about how things Just stay the same, leave and come back again. The hopelessness of a mundane world. In the end theres kind of a positive hopefulness where the people at the party don’t think the night will end. They don’t let it though the music stops. mark strand By Idramaqueenl How to cite Mark strand, Papers