A resourceful hermit crab finds an unlikely home

© Shawn M. Miller 2016

• ISSUE:Summer 2017
• AUTHOR:Shawn Millee

One day in 2010, I was hiking along a forested trail in Okinawa, Japan, when a shiny object caught my eye. I couldn't believe what I saw: A land hermit crab was crawling along the side of a tree, using a discarded plastic bottle cap for its shell.

Afterward, I began documenting hermit crabs I'd find in unexpected "shells"-often plastic twist-off caps-which they use to protect their vulnerable abdomens. I was amazed by their adaptability. Yet the more I looked for them, the more I noticed the staggering amount of plastic polluting our shores.

I stumbled upon this blueberry hermit crab (Coenobita purpureus) while walking near the lighthouse at Zampa Point (a popular diving spot) one summer evening just before sundown. That's when nocturnal hermit crabs make their way from the tree line to the beach. As I searched for the delicious-smelling screw pine seeds that attract them, one scuttled by me on a neighboring rock.

Crouching low on the jagged limestone, I placed my lens at ground level and composed a wide-angle shot, which allowed me to focus on the crab's detail while capturing the setting sun behind it. But I had to act quickly; hermit crabs move faster than you'd expect and dislike the flash. One hint of light and they go back in their shell-plastic or not.

OCEAN LITTER

PESTICIDES AND FERTILIZERS
AIR POLLUTION
NOISE AND LIGHT POLLUTION
Litter in the world's oceans comes from many sources, including containers that fall off ships during storms, trash that washes off city streets into rivers that lead into the sea, and waste from landfills that blows into streams or directly into the ocean. Once in the ocean, this debris may degrade slowly and persist for years, traveling the currents, accumulating in large patches and washing up on beaches.
Use of pesticides and fertilizers on farms has increased by 26-fold over the past 50 years, fueling increases in crop production globally. But there have been serious environmental consequences. Indiscriminate pesticide and fertilizer application may pollute nearby land and water, and chemicals may wash into nearby streams, waterways and groundwater when it rains. Pesticides can kill non-target organisms, including beneficial insects, soil bacteria and fish. Fertilizers are not directly toxic, but their presence can alter the nutrient system in freshwater and marine areas. This alteration can result in an explosive growth of algae due to excess nutrients. As a result, the water is depleted of dissolved oxygen, and fish and other aquatic life may be killed
Air pollution brings to mind visions of smokestacks billowing black clouds into the sky, but this pollution comes in many forms. The burning of fossil fuels, in both energy plants and vehicles, releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, causing climate change. Industrial processes also emit particulate matter, such as sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide and other noxious gases. Indoor areas can become polluted by emissions from smoking and cooking. Some of these chemicals, when released into the air, contribute to smog and acid rain. Short term exposure to air pollution can irritate the eyes, nose and throat and cause upper respiratory infections, headaches, nausea and allergic reactions. Long-term exposures can lead to chronic respiratory disease, lung cancer, and heart disease. Long-term exposures also can lead to significant climatic changes that can have far reaching negative impacts on food, water and ecosystems.
Artificial light and noise often drown out natural landscapes. In the Arctic, the sounds of oil and gas explorations are so loud that belugas, bowhead whales and other sea life have had difficulty feeding and breeding. Light pollution disrupts circadian rhythms for both humans and animals alike and may even contribute to the development of cancer. Light pollution also can impact sea turtles. Adult and hatchling sea turtles are drawn toward lights along the beach, thinking they are heading toward the moon. Coastal developments, therefore, are encouraged to turn off their lights or cover them at night