Hermit Crabs LOOOVE Plastic

What food do you love, but know its not good for you?

Comic of Red Hairy Hermit Crab Talking to a Pencil Urchin

A recently released study by the Hull University in England found the chemical additive, oleamide, which is released from plastic gets crabs excited.

The crabs showed elevated respiration rates (an indicator of excitement) when in the presence of even a small amount of oleamide.

Comic of Marine Hermit Crab talking to Pencil Urchin

While this response could be an indicator of sexual excitement, it is also similar to their feeding response.

When arthropods decompose they release oleic acid, which is very similar to the chemical make up of oleamide that is released by the plastic.

Comic of Crab telling an urchin he gets excited by plastic.

As scavengers, and opportunistic eaters, a crabs food is often comprised of dead, decomposing matter that contains the oleic acid. Since the compound found in plastic is so similar to one of the chemicals in their food, it could explain the crab's positive association with the plastic.

Microplastic Trapping Corals

Which of these catches more plastic particles- sand beds, coral reefs, sea grass beds, or macro-algae?

A study released last month by Jaco C. de Smit et al. looked at how different nearshore habitats trap and collect micro plastics.

They looked how sand/ sediment bed, sea grass, macro algae, and Stylophora (coral) were able to trap 2 different sizes of micro-plastics- 2.5mm and .5 mm.

What they found is that habitats with more complex structures trapped a higher amount of micro-plastics, but the area which trapped the most micro plastics was the sediment, which trapped 1 to 2 times more than any of the other areas.

The reason they believe this happened is because of the near-bed turbulent kinetic energy which is a contributing factor to sediment trapping.

Of the 2 different sizes of microplastics that were trapped, the .5mm particles seemed to be trapped more frequently than the 2.5 mm particles.

We already know micro-plastics are an issue, why does study this matter?

Nearshore ecosystems, like sea grass beds and coral reefs are hugely productive ecosystems and act as nurseries for many species of fish and sharks. According to this study they have large capacity for sequestering plastic. With these areas that are used by animals in vulnerable life stages, being inundated with micro plastics, it is much easier for them to get ingested and cause issues starting from early on. If the inhabitants of these area start to have issues, so too with the areas themselves.

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Plastic Free July 2019; The Changes I Didn't Expect.

Plastic Free July 2019 Images by David Jaffe

Plastic Free July is an annual movement that takes place around the globe. At the beginning of the month, people are asked to give up one single use plastic item for the month, with the hope that one thing will lead to many more and help us to be aware of all the single use plastic we use.

On July 1st, I invited everyone to join me in giving up a single use plastic item-it could be anything. As I have been trying to reduce my plastic intake for the past year I decided to give up plastic in the bathroom- lotion, deodorant, toothpaste, anything that comes in plastic containers. However, after a while, I felt like I wasn’t really challenging myself (let’s be honest, how many containers of lotion or XL containers of shampoo do you go through in a few weeks?). After looking at where all my plastic was coming from- food packaging- I changed my plan. My new goal in going plastic free was to reduce my plastic consumption in the bathroom, and at the grocery store.

I will be the first to admit, it was hard and I wasn’t able to remove 100% of plastic from the grocery cart, but here is what I did:

1. Make use of reusable bags- both for purchasing items in bulk, but also for my total purchases. Several stores will give you a discount on B.Y.O.B.

2. Buying individual rolls from the bakery for lunch sandwiches.

3. Yogurt that comes in glass jars- Oui- is creamy and delicious!

4. Fresh seasonal vegetables instead of the frozen ones.

5. Canned coconut milk for my coffee instead of plastic bottles of creamer.

6. A LOT of junk food comes in non- recyclable plastic bags…which means, I cut WAY back.

7. My favorite protein powder comes in a plastic container, but I found out that bulk protein powder with some added flavorings isn’t as bad as I thought.

8. Dish soap is crazy easy to make and really inexpensive, plus you can make it in any scent.

9. Homemade, preservative free protein snacks are better than prepackaged and 1/2 the cost.

10. Coconut oil is a great replacement for makeup remover and body lotion.

11. Plastic free shampoo, is odd at first, but kinda fun once you get use to it !

12. Buy from the bulk bins for things like-trail mix, rice, spices, protein powder, and pasta.

13. If you ask, the deli section attendant is more than happy to let you put your purchase in your own container.

These are just a handful of the ways I was able to cut back on single use plastic. As I mentioned above, its not 100% plastic free, but it is definitely a step in the right direction.

In the future I will try to share with you recipes I have tested, and brands you can purchase from to help reduce your intake, as well as any good resources I find along the way. Instagram: @greenmarinescientist has been very helpful.

I encourage each of you to tell your friends and family about your journey and to reach out to your favorite brands and companies and ask them to consider reducing their plastic. After all, it is because of consumer requests and suggestions that Trader Joes has committed to massively reducing the plastic in their packaging.

It might seem like a daunting change, but don’t give up. each little step does make a difference. I can’t wait to hear how your journey goes!