Researcher Receives Grant for Lagoons Horseshoe Crabs

MELBOURNE, FLA. — A National Park Service grant to Florida Tech of $22,900 funds Dr. Richard Tankersley’s project to gain critical information necessary to
protect and manage horseshoe crab populations in the Indian River Lagoon.
“We hope to learn more about the crab’s early life stages, such as larvae and juveniles,” said Tankersley, a professor of biological sciences.
The study will focus on crab populations situated in the Canaveral National Seashore. The work will include a series of laboratory and field experiments
designed to determine how larvae locate and select settlement habitats and the factors that influence their survival.
In 2005 Tankersley earned a grant of nearly $1.7 million over three years from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The grant funds a science lecture
series and ongoing work with Brevard County high school science teachers to develop new learning modules. He also works through another NSF grant to
develop an online tutorial program for students majoring in biology.