On Ocean Plastic Instead of Turtle Shells, Crabs Abandon Monogamy

Andy Fell — September 28, 2016 - 9:17am

The oceanic crab Planes minutus lives far from land. The crabs find a refuge between the upper shell and tail of loggerhead sea turtles, where they are nearly always found as a monogamous pair, one male and one female. But floating plastic trash in the ocean provides many new places for these crabs to live — and more space opens up many different ways for crabs to live and find partners.

Symbiosis Content

On Ocean Plastic Instead of Turtle Shells, Crabs Abandon Monogamy