Car Tires Discarded in the Ocean Trap Hermit Crabs Forever
from the November, 2021 issue of Undercurrent
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Hermit crabs are the garbage men of the oceans. They clean up what other animals leave behind. But a new study by researchers at Hirosaki University has discovered that the concave interior of discarded vehicle tires lying on the ocean floor can trap the crabs with no escape.
Atsushi Sogabe, first researcher on the study and associate professor at Hirosaki University, initially noticed this during a 2012 survey of Mutsu Bay in Japan. He then followed experiments in both an aquarium and the ocean. Scientists observed nearly 1,300 hermit crabs trapped in tires. None was able to escape without help from the researchers.... Subscribers: Read the full article here
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