On 6 January 2024, the journal Science of the Total Environment published an article by three Polish scientists: Prof Marta Szulkin and Dr Zuzanna Jagiełło from the Institute of Evolutionary Biology at the Faculty of Biology of the University of Warsaw (UW) and Dr Łukasz Dylewski from the University of Life Sciences in Poznań. 

In this paper, the researchers describe how, using novel research methods related to iEcology (internet ecology meaning the use of various online data sources as a tool in ecological research), the emergence of a new behaviour in hermit crabs was demonstrated. These creatures have started to use plastic deposited on beaches and in the water instead of shells.

Hermit crabs need to protect their soft abdomen. They do this by hiding in shells left behind by dead crustaceans. “However, such a mobile hiding place on the back is not sufficient for life: crabs grow and need to replace them, and the optimal shell is a scarce resource in the environment”, say the study authors.

In the paper, the researchers outline the possible evolutionary directions of individual hermit crab species in the Anthropocene. Among the factors influencing the choice of ‘artificial shells’ by these animals, they highlight sexual selection, the weight of plastics, odour stimuli and the possibility of camouflage in polluted environments.

Read more: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969723075885