In other words, the hermit crab is a very amazing creature.
Although they are called "crabs", they do not have the hard "abdominal carapace" of crabs, and can only live in shells to protect their soft abdomen.
(Hermit crab diagram)
When they grow to the point where they can't live in the "house", they move into larger shells.
The mollusks in the shells are either old and dead or eaten, in short, they are all "ownerless things", and the hermit crab is naturally "the virtuous live".
But with the advent of humans, their lives began to change.
People who live by the sea and go to the beach to have fun often pick up the largest and most beautiful seashells on the beach on a whim, and over time, there is a "housing crisis" for hermit crabs.
(Schematic diagram)
But while picking up the shells, humans have also given the hermit crabs some new houses, but humans usually call them "garbage......
(A "gift" from humanity)
Over time, the housing habits of hermit crabs have changed.
A recent study published by two Polish universities showed that the majority of the world's terrestrial hermit crabs live in garbage.
The researchers analyzed online images of hermit crabs and past scientific literature and found 386 cases of hermit crabs living in garbage:
Some of them live in toothpaste caps,
(Schematic diagram)
Some live in metal fragments of light bulbs,
(Schematic diagram)
Some live in plastic pipes,
(Schematic diagram)
Some make plastic toys their home......
(Schematic diagram)
According to statistics, 10 of the 16 species of terrestrial hermit crabs in the world use garbage as a dwelling, and they are distributed in tropical regions from Africa to Central America. Eighty-five per cent of hermit crabs live in plastic waste, while the rest choose metal and glass "shells".
(Statistics)
In other words, the hermit crab uses human-made garbage as a shelter, which is a global behavior.
(Schematic diagram)
Researchers said in interviews that their hearts were broken when they saw the images.
But as they dug deeper into their research, they also realized that hermit crabs are not all forced to live like this, and that they may even prefer litter to shells.
There are several reasons for this.
First of all, there is now more and more garbage in the sea and on the coast, living in bottle caps, which helps them to camouflage better.
(Schematic diagram)
Secondly, the plastic shell is not only hard, but also much lighter than the shell, so the hermit crabs can move more easily.
(Schematic diagram)
In addition, the smell of plastic waste is not so obvious, it is not easy to attract natural enemies, and it is more suitable for hermit crabs to find a partner, after all, compared with the original shells, colorful plastic waste can be regarded as "fine decoration......
According to a 2021 study, hermit crabs' plastic houses release a chemical that attracts female hermit crabs.
Beautiful, smelly, and safe, it's no wonder that hermit crabs live in the garbage.
(Schematic diagram)
Researchers say they don't know if plastic poses a health hazard to hermit crabs, but they do wonder if plastic waste will affect the evolutionary direction of hermit crabs.
(Schematic diagram)
But even with the benefits of plastic waste for hermit crabs, some scientists are concerned about their safety.
In 2019, scientists found that more than 500,000 hermit crabs had crawled into plastic bottles and other rubbish on Australia's remote Cocos Islands, and all of them were stuck or trapped.
At least 171 trillion pieces of plastic waste are currently floating in the ocean, and if no action is taken, this number could nearly triple by 2040.
At that time, for hermit crabs, it is really not known which came first, evolution or extinction......
(Schematic diagram)
Perhaps for hermit crabs, they have indeed found a safer and more convenient way of life.
But for humans, simply glorifying the behavior of hermit crabs as "evolution" without correcting them is a real compromise of evil deeds......