Plastic Pollution Will Soon Make Hermit Crab Extinct, Say Researchers
The study conducted by researchers at the England University of Hull determined that a chemical released from plastics dumped in the ocean is causing hyperactivity in the hermit crabs.
Plastic waste is the root cause for several issues faced by flora and fauna across the world, and now it is also affecting the hermit crab population, edging them closer to extinction.
Shawn Miller
Also Read: 10 Innovative Tech Solutions To Help Curb Plastic Pollution
The study conducted by researchers at the England University of Hull determined that a chemical released from plastics dumped in the ocean is causing hyperactivity in the hermit crabs.
Researchers looked at 40 crabs in the waters off the Yorkshire Coast and found high concentrations of oleamide -- an additive common in plastic -- is increasing respiration rates of hermit crabs causing them to get more excited.
The crabs are mistaking oleamide for a similar chemical that¡¯s naturally released by the species¡¯ food sources, and this could have dire effects on not just the overall population of the crabs but the ecosystem as a whole.
Jack Greenbshields, lead researcher on the study, said in a statement to Insider that hermit crabs, who are essentially scavengers by nature, look for naturally occurring chemical oleic acid from decaying corpses that attracts animals to their food sources. However, the plastic additive is so similar in smell compared to oleic acid, that hermit crabs rush towards it, thinking it¡¯s a food source.
Also Read: Researchers Create Plastic That 100% Breaks Down In Sunlight Within A Week
Pascale
Greenfields highlights that if they were scavenging for eating purposes, it would waste their energy. However, if they were to ingest it, the chemical could be really toxic for them, causing an array of negative effects including cancer.
Also Read: Japan Plastic Waste: Government Orders 100% Plastic Recycle, Reuse & Collection
The study is just the beginning that¡¯s trying to understand how far this issue has spread and how it can be contained. The researchers hope to continue the study to look for the extent of what the oleamide attraction can do to not just the hermit crabs but also other sea creatures.
