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Jagiello Z, Dylewski Ł, Szulkin M. The plastic homes of hermit crabs in the Anthropocene. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 913:168959. [PMID: 38185570 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Revised: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/26/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Plastic is the most pervasive element of marine waste, with harmful impact on wildlife. By using iEcology (i.e., internet Ecology, use of online data sources as a new tool in ecological research), we report on the emergence of a novel behaviour in hermit crabs related to the use of plastic or other anthropogenic materials as protective shells. We analysed images posted on social media to identify 386 individuals with artificial shells - mainly plastic caps (85 %). We report that 10 of the world's 16 terrestrial hermit crabs use artificial shells, a behaviour observed on all of the Earth's tropical coasts. Four non-exclusive mechanisms may drive individual choice for artificial shells: sexual signaling, lightness of artificial shells, odour cues, and camouflage in a polluted environment. Further research is needed to determine the impact of this behaviour on hermit crab evolutionary trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuzanna Jagiello
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland; Department of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland.
| | - Łukasz Dylewski
- Department of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Poznań, Poland
| | - Marta Szulkin
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biology, Biological and Chemical Research Centre, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
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Pokharel SS, Sharma N, Sukumar R. Viewing the rare through public lenses: insights into dead calf carrying and other thanatological responses in Asian elephants using YouTube videos. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:211740. [PMID: 35620003 PMCID: PMC9114935 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.211740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Documenting the behavioural repertoire of an animal species is important for understanding that species' natural history. Many behaviours such as mating, parturition and death may be observed only rarely in the wild due to the low frequency of occurrence, short duration and the species' elusiveness. Opportunistic documentation of rare behaviours is therefore valuable for deciphering the behavioural complexity in a species. In this context, digital platforms may serve as useful data sources for studying rare behaviours in animals. Using videos uploaded on YouTube, we document and construct a tentative repertoire of thanatological responses (death-related behaviours) in Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). The most frequently observed thanatological responses included postural changes, guarding/keeping vigil, touching, investigating the carcass, epimeletic behaviours and vocalizations. We also describe some infrequently observed behaviours, including carrying dead calves by adult females, re-assurance-like behaviours and attempts to support dying or dead conspecifics, some of which were only known anecdotally in Asian elephants. Our observations indicate the significance of open-source video data on digital platforms for gaining insights into rarely observed behaviours and support the accumulating evidence for higher cognitive abilities of Asian elephants in the context of comparative thanatology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nachiketha Sharma
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
| | - Raman Sukumar
- Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India
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Jarić I, Bellard C, Correia RA, Courchamp F, Douda K, Essl F, Jeschke JM, Kalinkat G, Kalous L, Lennox RJ, Novoa A, Proulx R, Pyšek P, Soriano-Redondo A, Souza AT, Vardi R, Veríssimo D, Roll U. Invasion Culturomics and iEcology. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2021; 35:447-451. [PMID: 33749056 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2020] [Revised: 04/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Jarić
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Na Sádkách 702/7, České Budějovice, 370 05, Czech Republic
- Department of Ecosystem Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovska 1645/31a, České Budějovice, 370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Céline Bellard
- CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, 91405, France
| | - Ricardo A Correia
- Helsinki Lab of Interdisciplinary Conservation Science (HELICS), Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, Helsinki, FI-00014, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), University of Helsinki, Yliopistonkatu 3, Helsinki, 00014, Finland
- CESAM - Centre for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago, Aveiro, 3810-193, Portugal
- Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Av. Lourival Melo Mota, s/n, Tabuleiro do Martins, Maceió, AL, 57072-90, Brazil
| | - Franck Courchamp
- CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Université Paris-Saclay, Orsay, 91405, France
| | - Karel Douda
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, FAFNR, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha 6-Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Franz Essl
- Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Rennweg 14, Vienna, 1030, Austria
| | - Jonathan M Jeschke
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Müggelseedamm 310, Berlin, 12587, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 1-3, Berlin, 14195, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Königin-Luise-Str. 2-4, Berlin, 14195, Germany
| | - Gregor Kalinkat
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Müggelseedamm 310, Berlin, 12587, Germany
| | - Lukáš Kalous
- Department of Zoology and Fisheries, FAFNR, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, Praha 6-Suchdol, 165 00, Czech Republic
| | - Robert J Lennox
- NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Laboratory for Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Nygårdsgaten 112, Bergen, 5008, Norway
| | - Ana Novoa
- Department of Invasion Ecology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Průhonice, CZ-252 43, Czech Republic
| | - Raphaël Proulx
- Département des Sciences de l'environnement; Chaire de Recherche du Canada en Intégrite Écologique, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, C.P. 500, Trois-Rivières, QC, G9A 5H7, Canada
| | - Petr Pyšek
- Department of Invasion Ecology, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Botany, Průhonice, CZ-252 43, Czech Republic
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, Prague, CZ-128 44, Czech Republic
| | - Andrea Soriano-Redondo
- CIBIO/InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado, Universidade do Porto, Campus de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas 7, Vairão, 4485-661, Portugal
- CIBIO/InBio, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Laboratório Associado, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Tapada da Ajuda, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, 1349-017, Portugal
| | - Allan T Souza
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Na Sádkách 702/7, České Budějovice, 370 05, Czech Republic
| | - Reut Vardi
- The Albert Katz International School for Desert Studies, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, 8499000, Israel
| | - Diogo Veríssimo
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, U.K
- Oxford Martin School, University of Oxford, 34 Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3BD, U.K
- Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global, 15600 San Pasqual Valley Road, Escondido, CA, 92027, U.S.A
| | - Uri Roll
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Sede-Boqer Campus, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, 8499000, Israel
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Online media reveals a global problem of discarded containers as deadly traps for animals. Sci Rep 2021; 11:267. [PMID: 33431925 PMCID: PMC7801720 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-79549-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The widespread occurrence of litter is a severe threat to global ecosystems. We have analyzed online media, to assess the diversity of animals that are prone to getting trapped in discarded containers and check which kind of containers is the most common trap for animals. A total of 503 records from around the world (51 countries, 6 continents) have been found. These include invertebrates (17 taxa, ca.1050 dead individuals), and vertebrates (98 taxa, 496 individuals including 44 carcasses). The latter group was most frequently represented by mammals (78.5% of all cases), then reptiles (15.3%), birds (1.2%), fish (1.0%) and amphibians (0.4%). Nearly 12.5% of the determined vertebrates are classified as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered, according to the IUCN. Although most trapped individuals were smaller animals, bigger ones such as monitor lizards (Varanus spp.) or large carnivores were also recorded. In most cases, animals were trapped in glass or plastic jars (32.4%), drink cans (16.5%), and steel cans (16.3%). Our results demonstrate that discarded containers can be a threat to all major groups of animals. In order to address this phenomenon, it is necessary to decrease a global production of debris, implement container deposit legislation and organize repeatable cleanup actions.
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