Tag Archives: maketheswitch4nature

Hermit crabs living in plastic tubes by Shawn Miller

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One of my favorite things to do is to go beachcombing after typhoons.  Over the years, I have seen a significant increase in the amount of marine debris washed ashore.  The trash is from all over the world, but the majority of it washes up from Korea, China, and Japan

The resourceful hermit crabs take full advantage of plastic tubes and twist top caps. They move into this valuable real estate and use it as a protective mobile home until they find a better option.

Hermit Crabs prefer to live in a natural seashell. Due to a decline in the number of seashells, the hermit crabs have to adapt with our trash to survive. Below are photographs of hermit crabs found naturally adapting with the plastic tubing.

Lucky was the first hermit crab I photographed adapting with plastic tubing. (2014)

The long plastic tubing slows down their movement. Not the ideal mobile home for a hermit crab.

Sometimes I find them living in clear plastic. Over time the plastic turns yellow and becomes brittle. Eventually, it will break up into microplastic.


Every hermit crab found adapting with our waste receives a new home (seashell). I bring a bucket with an assortment of shells with me on my beach hikes. The hermit crabs are placed in the bucket and make the switch. They get a better home and I keep the plastic.

Make the switch for nature

I was surprised to find this small blueberry hermit crab using a jump rope handle as a mobile home. The crab switched into a tapestry turban shell (mts4n #29) immediately.

The hermit crab is one of the few animals that can successfully adapt with our waste. If you would like to learn more about hermit crabs adapting with our waste please check out my post on “Crabs With Beach Trash Homes” by Shawn M Miller.

This post is not to make people sad, guilty, or lose hope, It is to bring awareness to the ongoing trash problem in our oceans and on our shorelines. Hopefully, these images will inspire people to change.

My Mission: To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands. – If you would like to join my journey, check out my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Your donations will help worldwide conservation initiatives as well as bringing solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines.  Thank you for your support. Shawn M Miller.

Bottle Cap Challenge – No Kicking Just Picking!

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The bottle cap challenge is a viral trend started by martial artist Farabi Davletchin. He was the first person to perform a precision spin kick and twist off the cap of the bottle using his foot.  In 2017, I started a my own bottle cap challenge. The goal was to see how many twist top caps I could collect in fifteen minutes. Its an exciting challenge and I recommend getting others involved. Make it a friendly competition and document your beach trash finds using the Clean Swell app by Ocean Conservancy.

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Over the years, I have seen a significant increase in the amount of marine debris washed ashore. The trash is from all over the world, but majority of it washes up from Korea, China and Japan

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Next time your at the beach, take a minute and look around at the amout of single use waste on the beach. How do you feel when you see this waste?

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Majority of the plastic bottles/caps that wash ashore become brittle and break down into smaller pieces. The smaller pieces (micro plastics) are harder to find and clean up.

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Eventually these smaller pieces make it back into the ocean affecting the wildlife. Marine birds often mistaken and eat this plastic because it looks and smells like their natural diet (ex: fish eggs, crabs and small fish).

IMG_9105Even the marine fish will sometimes eat the plastic, they are attracted by the smell as well.
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Hermit crabs are one of the few animals that can successfully adapt with our waste. They  eventually move into this valuable real estate (plastic caps) and use it as a protective mobile home until they find a better option. Below are photographs of hermit crabs found naturally adapting with plastic twist caps.

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This popular hermit crab was featured in honor of World Oceans Day 2019 on Stella McCartney’s website. Thank you all for bringing awareness to the plastic pollution problem.

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If you would like to learn more about hermit crabs adapting with our waste please check out my post on “Crabs With Beach Trash Homes” by Shawn M Miller.

My Mission: To Protect and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands for Future Generations. – If you would like to join my journey, check out my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Your donations will help worldwide conservation initiatives as well as bring solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines.  Thank you for your support.  Shawn M Miller.

#MakeTheSwitch4Nature

Earth Day 2019 Okinawa

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Happy Earth Day 2019,

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This post is not to make people sad, guilty or lose hope, It is to bring awareness to the ongoing trash problem in our oceans and on our shorelines.

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As you can see our trash is a serious problem on our shorelines. Some organizations are doing great things making a difference but its not enough, We must all work together worldwide to attack this problem.

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We all have the ability to make a difference by reducing the amount of single-use items we use daily. Change can be difficult but I challenge you to Make The Switch for Nature 

Three items that can make a huge impact are:

  1. Reusable thermos instead of single use
  2. Reusable bag instead of a plastic bag
  3. Metal utensils instead of single use plastic

IMG_3363I also recommend volunteering in a community beach cleanup at least once a year. Its important to see the amount of trash for yourself!

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Hopefully this post will inspire you to make a positive change.

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Learn more about making a difference, TEDx talk | Adapting to or Changing Environment by Shawn M Miller

Mission

To Document and Preserve the Wildlife of the Ryukyu Islands

This site is also designed to help people identify the beautiful animals of Okinawa, basically to serve as an online nature reference guide. If you would like to make a contribution to support my mission, please click on the donation link below.

paypal.me/maketheswitch4nature

Your donations will help worldwide conservation initiatives as well as bringing solutions to the worldwide pollution issues on our beautiful shorelines.  Thank you for your support. Shawn M Miller.

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