Housing Crises Surfaces on Beaches

ConceptualConceptual artist and bio-engineer Elizabeth Demaray has decided to give the environment a new form of plastic refuse–prefab housing for wild and domesticated hermit crabs.

While the idea isn’t necessarily a bad one considering the current state of the habitat and lack of natural resources for hermit crab housing, environmental enthusiasts think other wise. Possibly, due to beachcombers stealing hermit crabs natural homes, seashells, and a larger environmental problem caused by man, hermit crab housing seems to be on the decline. Since hermit crabs need houses to protect their soft abdomens from predators, streaking is not an option for them.

In theory, dumping prefab houses on beaches where there is a housing shortage for the little crabs sound reasonable. However, looking at the cons of dumping more plastics into our already burdened environment raises questions in long-term effects of such an action.

First, hermit crabs eat their shells to make them more comfortable, plastic housing would give them a plastic house to ingest. Can the hermit crabs even pulls into the plastic houses far enough to elude their predators?

Second, bits of the plastic houses will wind up in the food chain either through the hermit crabs natural predators or though microscopic bits being ingested by plankton and microbes. These microscopic garbage eaters and form the basis of he oceanic food chain, winding up in krill and sardines which then become food for larger ocean life such as whales, dolphins, seals, seabirds, and even the tuna in our grocery stores.

Obviously other ethical questions should be raised such as are the plastic houses are BPA free, made of recycled plastic, and even if this is just a bandage for a larger ecologic problem surfacing.