Meeting Abstract
Hermit crabs are well known for their use of found objects such as shells. Some use other natural objects such as bamboo or other plant materials. The largest of the land hermit crabs (eg Birgus latro) abandon found objects as they become more terrestrialized. At Cayos Cochinos, we have recorded more use of plastics such as bottle tops, shot gun shells, lotion bottles, and similar objects over the past three years. As humans discard more of these materials, crabs of all sizes have incorporated the objects into their resource pool. We have enriched the area with a variety of shells over the past 14 years, also observing that the novel shells are readily used by the land crabs. The plasticity of use for the found objects poses an interesting question concerning resource acquisition and use, warranting further exploration on future expeditions.
