In a startling development, new images have emerged showing Hermit crabs using plastic shells as a safety net for their bodies as pollution levels in the world’s oceans rise.
The result, based on a study of images taken by wildlife enthusiasts, was published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.
Scientists expressed concern about the current wildlife condition, saying they were heartbroken to see how much the animals were suffering and how they were living on human-generated waste.
They stated the photos showed roughly two-thirds of hermit crab species in “artificial shells,” which are items discarded by people.
One of the researchers Marta Szulkin, who is an urban ecologist from the University of Warsaw, said, “We started to notice something completely out of the ordinary. Instead of being adorned with a beautiful snail shell, which is what we’re used to seeing – they would have a red plastic bottle cap on their back or piece of light bulb.”
Researchers find 386 hermit crabs using plastic caps as shells
Szulkin and colleagues, Łukasz Dylewski from Poznan University of Life Sciences, and Zuzanna Jagiello from the University of Warsaw discovered that 386 crabs exploited plastic caps as shells.
“According to our calculations, 10 out of the 16 species of land hermit crabs in the world use this type of shelter and it’s been observed in all tropical regions of the Earth,” the professor said.
However, it is unknown if these elements are beneficial to marine animals.
“When I first saw these pictures, I felt it was heart-breaking,” BBC Radio 4’s Inside Science quoted Prof Szulkin as saying.
“At the same time, I think we really need to understand the fact that we are living in a different era and animals are making use of what is available to them, “the professor added.
