{"id":354,"date":"2015-08-12T09:06:03","date_gmt":"2015-08-12T08:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/sosf-darros-research-centre\/the-shells-are-alive\/"},"modified":"2015-08-12T09:06:03","modified_gmt":"2015-08-12T08:06:03","slug":"the-shells-are-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/sosf-darros-research-centre\/the-shells-are-alive\/","title":{"rendered":"The shells are alive&#8230;"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"the-content\"><p><strong>Words by Kerryn Bullock<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Often people are so caught up in the big things around them, like sharks, turtles and birds, that the little creatures are overlooked. One such little creature that doesn\u2019t get enough credit is the crab. Crabs scuttle around our feet day and night on D\u2019Arros and St Joseph, and no-one pays any serious attention to them. If I\u2019m on my bike, I just swerve to one side to avoid riding over them in the road. But when I stop to have a look \u2013 a real look \u2013 I\u2019m always amazed by the fine detail and extreme diversity of this family of creatures. The varied assortment of crustaceans on D\u2019Arros and St Joseph is really something to witness.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11532\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 3200px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/shutterstock_215110615.jpg\" class=\"fresco\" data-fresco-caption=\"\" data-fresco-options=\"thumbnails:false\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11532\" src=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/shutterstock_215110615.jpg\" alt=\"Birgus latro, more commonly known as the robber crab. \" width=\"3200\" height=\"2133\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Birgus latro, more commonly known as the robber crab.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_11533\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"width: 1263px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/RVB_0660.jpg\" class=\"fresco\" data-fresco-caption=\"\" data-fresco-options=\"thumbnails:false\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11533\" src=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/RVB_0660.jpg\" alt=\"A species of ghost crab. \" width=\"1263\" height=\"842\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A species of ghost crab.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_11530\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 3808px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Image-3-by-Paul-Cowley-Cardisoma-sp..jpg\" class=\"fresco\" data-fresco-caption=\"\" data-fresco-options=\"thumbnails:false\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11530\" src=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Image-3-by-Paul-Cowley-Cardisoma-sp..jpg\" alt=\"One of the land crabs (Cardisoma sp).\" width=\"3808\" height=\"2547\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of the land crabs (Cardisoma sp).<\/p><\/div>\n<p>My favourites are the hermit crabs that cover the ground at the camp on St Joseph Atoll. It\u2019s almost impossible to walk in a straight line here \u2013 it\u2019s more like a wobble or a stagger, as I try to avoid standing on the crabs, or a stubbed-toe hop when I pick up my foot as quickly as possible after stepping on one. Luckily the hermit crabs have strong spiral shells that they can quickly withdraw into for protection when they do get accidentally stepped on.<\/p>\n<p>Hermit crabs get their own back for the misplaced step. When we\u2019re sitting around the fire pit at the camp cooking dinner, they quietly sneak up in the darkness and nip our toes with their pincers when we least expect it. It\u2019s not terribly sore, but we get quite a fright. They also have powerful sensory organs. They seem to just mill around camp until food is brought out to the fire. Then they home in from all directions, some from a great distance away, and move en masse towards the source of the scent. They would eat the food off the plate if they could \u2013 and they do if any plate is left unattended on the ground for even a few moments. When the plate\u2019s owner returns, they find a pile of crabs four tiers high. Hermit crabs are omnivorous scavengers, eating anything they can get their pincers on, from plant matter to dead animals that wash up on the beach.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_11531\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 2816px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Image-4-by-Kerryn-Bullock-hermit-crab.jpg\" class=\"fresco\" data-fresco-caption=\"\" data-fresco-options=\"thumbnails:false\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11531\" src=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Image-4-by-Kerryn-Bullock-hermit-crab.jpg\" alt=\"A single hermit crab. \" width=\"2816\" height=\"2112\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A single hermit crab.<\/p><\/div>\n<div id=\"attachment_11535\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" style=\"width: 5152px\"><a href=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Image-5-by-Paul-Cowley-migration.jpg\" class=\"fresco\" data-fresco-caption=\"\" data-fresco-options=\"thumbnails:false\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11535\" src=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/Image-5-by-Paul-Cowley-migration.jpg\" alt=\"A hermit crab \u2018mass migration\u2019 to food.\" width=\"5152\" height=\"3864\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">A hermit crab \u2018mass migration\u2019 to food.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Hermit crabs live away from the sea, returning only to release their hatchling larvae. The growth of a crustacean is limited by its hard exoskeleton, which must be shed in a process called moulting. Once the old exoskeleton has been discarded, the crab\u2019s body is able to expand rapidly before the new exoskeleton has time to harden. Therefore, as a hermit crab grows, it needs a continuous supply of shells of increasing size. It occupies these spiralled shells to protect its soft, elongated and twisted abdomen, which contains many of the creature\u2019s internal organs, including the liver, digestive tract and reproductive system. The shell provides important protection for these vital organs, and the organs are longitudinal in shape to fit comfortably in the abdomen.<\/p>\n<p>Next time you spot a slow-moving crab, I hope you stop for a moment to have a good look at it.<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Words by Kerryn Bullock Often people are so caught up in the big things around them, like sharks, turtles and birds, that the little creatures are overlooked. One such little creature that doesn\u2019t get enough credit is the crab. Crabs scuttle around our feet day and night on D\u2019Arros and St Joseph, and no-one pays [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":56,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.1 (Yoast SEO v27.1.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The shells are alive... - SOSF D&#039;Arros Research Centre<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/saveourseas.com\/sosf-darros-research-centre\/the-shells-are-alive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The shells are alive...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Words by Kerryn Bullock Often people are so caught up in the big things around them, like sharks, turtles and birds, that the little creatures are overlooked. 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