Biodiv Sci ›› 2023, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (5): 22407.  DOI: 10.17520/biods.2022407

• Original Papers: Animal Diversity • Previous Articles     Next Articles

The current situation of horseshoe crabs in the offshore waters of northern South China Sea with analysis of the potential habitat distribution of juvenile Tachypleus tridentatus in Beibu Gulf

Yuyuan Bao1, Yinkang Li2,3, Wuying Lin4, Zhiqin Zhou5, Xiaobo Xiao6, Xiaoyong Xie2,3,*()   

  1. 1. Guangdong Ocean Development Planning Research Center, Guangzhou 510022
    2. Key Laboratory of Fishery Ecological Environment of Guangdong Province, South China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, Guangzhou 510300
    3. Sanya Tropical Fisheries Research Institute, Sanya, Hainan 572019
    4. Shenzhen Aiqi Nature Ecological Technology Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, Guangdong 518000
    5. Haikou Duotan Wetlands Institute, Haikou 570000
    6. Guangxi Biodiversity Research and Conservation Association, Nanning 530012
  • Received:2022-07-16 Accepted:2022-11-10 Online:2023-05-20 Published:2023-04-20
  • Contact: * E-mail: xyxie@scsfri.ac.cn
  • About author:# Co-first authors

Abstract:

Aims: The horseshoe crab population in the areas surrounding China have declined dramatically due to overfishing, environmental pollution, and habitat loss. In 2019, Tachypleus tridentatus was listed in the IUCN Red List as Endangered category. However, the current literature on horseshoe crabs within China is inadequate, adversely affecting the conservation of the species. This paper aims to assess the current situation of horseshoe crabs in the offshore waters of the northern South China Sea and determine the potential distribution of the T. tridentatus in the Beibu Gulf.
Methods: In 2018 and 2019, trawl sampling was used in the adult horseshoe crab survey in the northern coastal waters of the South China Sea, with a total of 99 sampling sites. For the investigation of juvenile T. tridentatus population in the intertidal zones, 10 and 14 investigation points were set up in 2019 and 2020 respectively. Using our survey results, a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) model was used to analyze the potential habitat of juvenile T. tridentatus along the Beibu Gulf.
Results: In the survey, 18 horseshoe crabs were found at only 15 of the 99 sites. Among them, 9 horseshoe crabs were found at 7 sites in 2018 and 9 at 8 sites in 2019. The abundance of juvenile T. tridentatus in the Beibu Gulf was determined to be 0.01-0.33 ind./100 m2 in 2019 and 0.01-0.65 ind./100 m2 in 2020. According to the results of the MaxEnt model, 18.39% of the intertidal zone along the Beibu Gulf coast is highly suitable for juvenile horseshoe crabs.
Conclusions: Adult horseshoe crabs in the offshore waters of northern South China Sea are sparsely distributed and mainly concentrated in the Beibu Gulf. Of the areas along the coast of Guangxi in the Beibu Gulf, Suixi County in Guangdong and Xinying Bay in Hainan are the most highly suitable areas for juvenile horseshoe crab. Therefore, we should focus on strengthening the protection of these areas.

Key words: Tachypleus tridentatus, Beibu Gulf, current resource status, maximum entropy model, habitat