Microplastics and Hermit Crab Shell Selection

Hermit crabs have a soft underbelly, unlike their 'true crab' cousins - so they must protect themselves by finding empty shells to live in. As hermit crabs grow, they must also find shells of increasing size.⠀
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This is a complicated and risky thing, as it means certain death if a hermit crab is left shell-less.⠀
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Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have been studying microplastics and hermit crabs. Unfortunately, the presence of microplastics was found to have a damaging effect of how the crabs selected their new shells.

For more information, have a look at Queen’s University Belfast’s page:

https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/publications/microplastics-disrupt-hermit-crab-shell-selection