Hermit crabs as model species for investigating the behavioural responses to pollution

Mark Briffa*, Gareth Arnott, Jörg D. Hardege

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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Abstract

Human impacts on the environment affect organisms at all levels of biological organisation and ultimately can change their phenotype. Over time, phenotypic change may arise due to selection but individual phenotypes are also subject to change via genotype × environment interactions. In animals, behaviour is the most flexible aspect of phenotype, and hence the most liable to change across environmental gradients including exposure to pollution. Here we review current knowledge on the impacts of pollution, broadly defined to include the release of substances, energy, and the effects of carbon emissions, on the behaviour of a highly studied group, the globally distributed hermit crabs. We first show how their obligate association with empty gastropod shells underpins their use as model organisms for the study of resource-assessment, contest, and risk-coping behaviours. Intense study of hermit crabs has advanced our understanding of how animals use information, and we discuss the ways in which pollutants can disrupt the cognitive processes involved. We then highlight current studies of hermit crabs, which paint a clear picture of behavioural changes due to multiple pollutants. Impacts on behaviour vary across pollutants and entire suites of behaviours can be influenced by a single pollutant, with the potential for interactive and cascade effects. Hermit crabs offer the opportunity for detailed behavioural analysis, including application of the repeated measures animal-personality framework, and they are highly amenable to experimental manipulations. As such, we show how they now provide a model system for studying the impacts of pollution on behaviour, yielding insights broadly applicable across animal diversity.
Original languageEnglish
Article number167360
Number of pages0
JournalScience of the Total Environment
Volume906
Issue number0
Early online date30 Sept 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Waste Management and Disposal
  • Pollution

Keywords

  • Behaviour
  • HIREC
  • Hermit crab
  • Info-disruption
  • Microplastic
  • Ocean acidification
  • Pollution

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