Hundreds of Thousands Dead

                                                                 ANDREW FIDLER/Silke Stuckenbrock

Our garbage washes ashore on remote islands and the dying begins.

When a hermit crab dies, it emits a chemical signal to let others know that a potential shell has become available, Bond explained. Thus, a crab that dies after trying to make a home out of plastic sets off an insidious chain reaction: The smell attracts another who dies, and so on, generating an ultra-strong signal that leads even more of the crabs to an almost-certain demise. “It’s not quite a domino effect. It’s almost like an avalanche,” Bond said. “Hermit after hermit going into these bottles thinking they’ll get their next home, when in reality, it’s their last home.”