Habitat Enhancement or Advertising Sellout?  

A Rutgers University art professor has found that artificial hermit crab shells may help boost dwindling populations. But how to pay for them?

Studies have shown that 30 to 60 percent of land hermit crabs live in shells too small for them, and population growth among these crabs is held in check by the number of available shells. Beachcombers and boardwalk souvenir shops have depleted the populations of available large shells for the crabs to grow into. Elizabeth Demaray, an artist who teaches sculpting at Rutger’s Camden campus, set about creating a lightweight plastic shell that was ergonomically appropriate for hermit crabs. She designed a prototype shell out of a resin polymer that was a sort of hermit igloo -- beige colored to match the sandy floor of most North American beaches. To put her plan to work, she hopes to get a corporate sponsor to pay for the shells. She would even be willing to let the company emblazon the shells with its corporate logo. This thought horrified New Jersey Sierra Club Director Jeff Tittel, who exclaimed, “Next thing, we'll be tattooing the Exxon logo on Bengal tigers." 

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/cape/080305CRAB_HOMES.cfm

Press of Atlantic City, 8/3/2005