Hermit crabs pick up trash and use it as a mansion. This style of painting has an apocalyptic feel.The last one is too scary!Hermit crabs will continue to choose shells as body armor as they grow, but the invasion of garbage has begun to change their choices. All kinds of human garbage have become their new mansions.
Even recently, a research team from the University of Warsaw discovered that plastic waste stands out among the many human wastes and has become a "trend" chosen by hermit crabs.
Researchers observed hundreds of hermit crabs that chose garbage for their shells. More than 80% of them chose plastic bottle caps, and they believe this selection tendency occurs on a global scale.
In fact, the topic of ocean pollution has not stopped for many years. Pictures of hermit crabs moving around carrying human garbage can be found on the Internet more than ten years ago. There are many types of garbage, including glass bottles, water pipes, bottle caps, cans, and even doll heads, which look extremely scary.
Researchers have made a lot of guesses about this. For example, with the decrease of natural shells,These artificial props gradually become alternatives that hermit crabs actively choose.
Plastic waste is easier to find and lighter for those puny hermit crabs to carry. In addition, the novelty of the plastic shell may make it easier to attract the opposite sex and make it easier for them to camouflage themselves in the garbage.
But then again, whether this selection is benign and whether it is harmful remains to be studied. Whether it will affect the evolution of hermit crabs also awaits further observation.
Faced with this phenomenon, researchers are still very sad. After all, hermit crabs are not the only animals that are troubled by human garbage. But at the same time, they also realized one thing,Animals are always taking advantage of everything they come across in order to survive, even though times have changed.