Zum Inhalt springen

Schlagwort: Crabs

Studie zeigt, dass Einsiedlerkrebse von Plastikmüll richtig geil werden

Die Washington Post berichtet, dass ein Team von Wissenschaftlern der University of Hull in England vor der Küste von Yorkshire 40 Einsiedlerkrebse dabei beobachtete, wie die kleinen Wasserlebewesen von im Meer gefundenen Kunststoffen außergewöhnlich sexuell erregt waren – insbesondere aufgrund des chemischen Zusatzstoffes in Kunststoffen, der als Ölsäureamid bekannt ist.

Oleamide elevates the respiration rate of hermit crabs, which indicates excitement, researchers said, adding that the product is already considered to be a sex pheromone for some insects. „Our study shows that oleamide attracts hermit crabs,“ PhD candidate Paula Schirrmacher said in a statement released Tuesday.

„Respiration rate increases significantly in response to low concentrations of oleamide, and hermit crabs show a behavioral attraction comparable to their response to a feeding stimulant,“ she said.

(via BoingBoing)

2 Kommentare

Krabben, sehr viele Krabben

Jedes Jahr im Sommer treffen sich in Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne, Australia tausende von Spinnenkrabben um sich dort gemeinsam zu häuten. Das sieht in der Menge ziemlich creepy aus.

Every year as the waters cool on the southern shores, hundreds of thousands of Giant Spider crabs find their way up on the sandy shallows Rye and Blairgworie in Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne Australia. This happens between May – July ever year and the result is a moving sea of orange crabs that blanket the shallows.

As the name suggests these crabs are massive. Their legs are over 70cm long with a body measuring nearly 17cm wide. They move in organised chaos on 8 long legs. Their weapons, swollen claws. Their mission, seek shelter in the safety of the sandy shallows, moult and in some cases mate.

Like most crustaceans, a hard suit of armour protects these crabs. What it doesn’t allow the crabs to do though is grow. So the crabs need to get rid of the old armour and grow a new bigger one.

To do this, they secrete a special enzyme that separates the old shell from the underlying skin, while a new soft paper-like shell is secreted beneath the old one. The crabs then start absorbing seawater and swell, causing the old shell to come apart. The soldier’s shell then simply opens up like a lid and the crab extracts itself.

Once one crab starts to moult it sets off a chain reaction and the rest of the orange-clad army moult almost simultaneously. Moulting not allows the crabs to grow, it helps to rid them of parasites and other animals growing on their shells including bacteria that can weaken and erode their protective uniform.


(Direktlink, via Likecool)

Ein Kommentar