Wild Tobago

So who donates this primary ingredient for medical research and the development of vaccines? Dr Anjani Ganase discusses our connections to the ancient horseshoe crab.   The horseshoe crab – if I want to be overly dramatic – is the most alien creature that I have ever come across. During my first year studying in Florida, we observed the gathering of horseshoe crabs along the water’s edge of a beach. From above, this crab looks like a mobile helmet without a body crawling slowly across; turn it over and, the wriggling legs around a mouth gives the appearance of a baby alien. Sometimes there is a micro biome of worms and other critters that infest the underside of the horseshoe crab.   The horseshoe crab is actually not a crab. Rather it is a close relative of spiders and scorpions. There are four species existing today; one species, the Atlantic horseshoe crab ( Limulus polyphemus ), can be found along the eastern coast of USA and along Mexico. The other three species a...

Adaptations of creatures into monsters of dreams and mythology (and inspiration for films) can     teach us lessons, and provide new gifts or treasures. Dr Anjani Ganase asks us to look at some strange ocean creatures. Living in the ocean requires a different set of skills from living on the land. On land most of us, with the exception of those with wings, are limited to moving around the earth’s surface. Most terrestrial animals spend their lifetimes crossing the terrain for food, water, shelter and mates. The ocean, however, has other properties: water allows organisms to move in all planes and connects animal and plant life at much greater and more intimate scales where water is also a medium of transport. While the ocean is a 3D realm, it doesn’t make the ocean homogenous as there are natural physical barriers that limit movement and transport of marine life and material.   For example, the pressure exerted on our bodies increases with depth, owin...