KOCHI: Illustrating the threat posed by plastic pollution to the marine ecosystem, a hermit crab was recently found using a plastic ice cream container for a shell on Kalpeni Island, in the Lakshadweep archipelago. Jabir Thameem, a freelance digital marketer who has been making a documentary for the Lakshadweep environment department, spotted the crab on May 29.
Hermit crabs have a soft abdomens and lack a protective carapace. The species uses empty snail shells or other hollow objects as shelter to protect itself from predators. Published a few years ago, research by the University of Tasmania’s Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies found hermit crabs using plastic containers as protective shells in the Cocos Islands, in the Indian Ocean.
“I was shooting a video for the Lakshadweep environment department in Kalpeni when I noticed the crab inside the ice cream container. Plastic pollution is dire in Lakshadweep, posing a threat to marine organisms. I alerted the environment department to the incident, but authorities refuse to take it seriously,” said Jabir, a graduate in English literature from Calicut University.
“The plastic discarded on land ends up in the sea, posing a threat to the marine environment. Organisms like hermit crabs use plastic as part of adaptation, which ultimately becomes an ecological trap. Plastic products leach chemicals that harm the organisms. This has been reported in many countries and the Andaman and Nicobar islands,” said Dr P Balakrishnan, a scientist with the wildlife biology department of the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI).
“The abdomen of the hermit crab is very delicate and it uses snail shells to protect its body. As it grows it changes shells. When it cannot find sea shells it may use other objects. It has been found using plastic and glass bottles,” said researcher Dr A Bijukumar.
“Hermit crabs use other objects for protection when there is a shortage of sea shells. But plastic can be harmful as it heats up when exposed to sunlight,” said R Reshmi, another researcher.