#slippershells

Tide pools #shoreline #seaside #slippershells #molusca_crepidula #still_life_gallery #mothernature #atlanticocean #mtk #thehamptons #longisland #artiseverywhere (at Montauk - Block Island Sound) https://www.instagram.com/p/CEofCMEFQWS/?igshid=g8cccakf2fdy

I had learned about horseshoe crab blood and its medicinal uses a while back, but just recently learned about the plight of the red knot. This is just one more example of how complex ecosystems are, and how one slip-up can cause ecosystem collapse, and extinction. I wish more people were attuned to how interconnected ALL life is on this planet. I am always hopeful that we can see our limitations with elegance, and find new solutions, but we are so often set in our ways, and begin scrambling madly once it is too late. And then, the damage is done. It takes 9 years for horseshoe crabs to be mature enough to mate. 9 years. Even if some localized moratoriums do their job, and more eggs are available for red knots and other coastal birds.... will it be too late? I hope not. The additional impact of our warming planet makes me fear for the worst.