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

Briffa, Mark; Arnott, Gareth; Hardege, Jörg D.

Authors

Mark Briffa

Gareth Arnott

Jörg D. Hardege



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.

Citation

Briffa, M., Arnott, G., & Hardege, J. D. (2024). Hermit crabs as model species for investigating the behavioural responses to pollution. The Science of the total environment, 906, Article 167360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167360

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Sep 24, 2023
Online Publication Date Sep 27, 2023
Publication Date Jan 1, 2024
Deposit Date Sep 29, 2023
Publicly Available Date Oct 3, 2023
Journal Science of the Total Environment
Print ISSN 0048-9697
Electronic ISSN 1879-1026
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 906
Article Number 167360
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167360
Keywords Pollution; HIREC; Behaviour; Info-disruption; Microplastic; Ocean acidification; Hermit crab
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4402822

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