Image source, Sean Miller
“When I first saw these images, it was heartbreaking,” said scientist Marta Sulkin.
- author, Victoria Gill
- Role, Science correspondent, BBC News
Hermit crabs around the world, which use shells as armor, are increasingly turning to plastic waste instead.
The conclusion is based on the analysis of photos taken by wildlife enthusiasts and posted on the Internet.
The scientists said they were “saddened” to see how much animals live in our waste.
The researchers pointed this out Two-thirds of hermit crabs resort to 'artificial shells'things that have been disposed of by humans.
The study used social media and websites to obtain images.
“We started to notice something completely out of the ordinary,” said Marta Sulkin, an urban ecologist at the University of Warsaw and one of the study's authors.
“Instead of being decorated with a beautiful snail shell, as we are used to seeing, it had a red plastic bottle cap on the back or a piece of a light bulb.”
Image source, Sean Miller
Most of the waste used by crabs was plastic.
Shulkin and his colleagues, Zuzanna Jagiello of the University of Warsaw and Lukasz Delewski of the Poznań University of Life Sciences, found a total of 386 individuals using artificial shells, especially plastic covers.
“According to our calculations, 10 out of 16 species of terrestrial hermit crabs in the world use this type of shelter and This has been observed in all tropical regions of the Earth“Shulkin explained.
It is not yet clear whether these substances are harmful – or perhaps beneficial – to small, vulnerable crustaceans.
“When I first saw these images it was heartbreaking,” Sulkin told a BBC radio programme. Inside science.
“At the same time, I think we really need to understand the fact that we live in a different era and animals take advantage of what they have at their disposal.”
Fighting for plastic
This environmental study, based on images on the Internet, revealed that the use of artificial shells is a “global phenomenon.”
“We've seen this in two-thirds of all hermit crab species on Earth,” Sulkin said.
“This is what we were able to determine simply using photos taken by tourists.”
Researchers say the findings open new questions about how these coastal crustaceans interact with and use plastic.
In addition to understanding whether it causes them any harm, scientists want to know how it might affect their development..
This entire group of crabs has adapted to foraging for snails and using discarded snail shells to protect their fragile bodies.
When these shells become scarce, crabs fight over them.
Image source, Sean Miller
In addition to understanding whether the use of plastic causes any harm to cancers, scientists want to know how this phenomenon may affect their development.
“What we don’t know is to what extent the novelty of the crabs plays a role, and whether they will fight over artificial plastic shells,” Szolkin explained.
The researcher said that natural snail shells are in decline, so she believes that animals will have an easier time finding an artificial alternative.
And the lighter plastic “shells”. They can also help smaller, weaker crabs surviveBecause it is easier to transport.
There is certainly a lot of plastic in the marine environment for animals to choose from.
a Stady A recent study that attempted to measure the extent of plastic pollution estimated that at least 171 trillion pieces of plastic are now floating in our oceans.
This could triple by 2040 if no action is taken.Experts warned.
But there is hope that the countries will finally sign an agreement in 2024 Global treaty To fight the plastic scourge.
Mark Miodownik, a professor of materials at University College London, told the BBC that these images contain a lesson for humans.
“Like hermit crabs, we should be reusing plastic much more, rather than throwing it away,” he said.
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