polympart: Everyone hates plastic pollution, right? We don’t like seeing photos of turtles caught in abandoned fishing nets, birds tangled in discarded packaging, or the sheer amount of microplastic fish end up consuming.
Well it turns out one particular species doesn’t feel so negatively towards the mounting marine plastic problem – in fact, they are actually turned on by this waste…
You read that right, hermit crabs are attracted to plastic in the ocean
An additive in plastic named Oleamide is already known to be a sex pheromone and stimulant for particular marine species, including shrimp.
But a research team at the University of Hull have found that when hermit crabs are exposed to the chemical, their respiration rate increases – indicating both excitement and attraction.
“Our study shows that oleamide attracts hermit crabs,” says Paula Schirrmacher, a PhD candidate who worked on the paper.
“Respiration rate increases significantly in response to low concentrations of oleamide, and hermit crabs show a behavioural attraction comparable to their response to a feeding stimulant.
“Oleamide also has a striking resemblance to oleic acid, a chemical released by arthropods during decomposition. As scavengers, hermit crabs may misidentify oleamide as a food source, creating a trap.
“This research demonstrates that additive leaching may play a significant role in the attraction of marine life to plastic.”
Given that the IUCN estimates that at least 7.2 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into our oceans every year, this problem is only going to get worse.
source: https://www.euronews.com/green/2021/08/14/hermit-crabs-are-sexually-attracted-to-plastic-pollution-in-the-ocean