A study by Associate Professor Atsushi Sogabe of the Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Hirosaki University found that many hermit crabs that had invaded the waste tires dumped in the ocean could not escape and died inside.Associate Professor Sogabe and his colleagues believe that hermit crabs play an important role in the material cycle of coastal ecosystems, so it is necessary to take measures against waste tires.
According to Hirosaki University, Associate Professor Sogabe and his colleagues placed six waste tires on the seabed at a depth of 8 meters on the coast of Mutsu Bay in Aomori Prefecture and observed the invasion of hermit crabs for a year.As a result, a total of 6 hermit crabs were found, centered on Paguristes ortmulus and Pagurus minutus. It is calculated that 1 hermit crabs invaded one waste tire per day, and many hermit crabs invaded especially in winter.
When the hermit crab was released around the waste tire installed in the aquarium, 67% of the hermit crab and 50% of the Paguristes ortmulus invaded the waste tire, but escaped from the waste tire to the outside. Wasn't even one.Associate Professor Sogabe et al. Conclude that the inside of the tire has a rat-guard-like structure, and that "ghost fishing" (* 1) occurs in which the hermit crab that has once invaded cannot escape and dies.
Waste tires are used as shock absorbers for fishing boats and as fishing reefs, and it is thought that a considerable amount of them are present on the seabed.Associate Professor Sogabe and his colleagues are sea cleaners where hermit crabs feed on dead organisms and organic matter fragments, and they feed on large carnivorous fish to support the life cycle of the sea, so it is necessary to take measures against waste tires. It is supposed to be.
* 1 Ghost fishing A phenomenon in which fishing gear discarded or dumped in water causes harm to aquatic organisms.
Paper information:[Royal Society Open Science] Marine-dumped waste tyres cause the ghost fishing of hermit crabs
