Adapting to our changing environment | Shawn Miller | TEDxOIST

Shawn Miller explains how some small changes in our daily life can create significant changes for the nature around us.

Shawn Miller is a wildlife photographer and naturalist. Shawn specializes in capturing the flora and fauna of Okinawa, Japan. Equally at home on land and underwater, Shawn has documented rare and endemic species from birds and reptiles to nudibranchs and shells. Shawn specializes in creating motion in still photographs, fluorescence photography, environmental awareness and the protection of endangered species. Shawn is long-term resident of Okinawa, whose purpose of achievement drives him to get that once-in-a-lifetime photograph of never-before-seen animal behavior. Shawn also has a species of sea snails named after him (Hemilienardia shawnmilleri, Sinezona milleri).

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx

So, I grew up as a dependent
of an active-duty service member.

My family and I traveled the world,
and we moved around often.

And out of all the places that I lived,
Okinawa, Japan, was by far my favorite.

It gave me this natural,
comforting sense of home.

I knew one day that I had to get back.

Eventually, in 1998, my journey
brought me back here,

and I've been here ever since.

Okinawa is a subtropical paradise
with warm weather and beautiful beaches.

And it has some of the best
scuba diving in the world,

and the people are some
of the kindest people you'll ever meet.

It's also rich in nature scenery as well,

and we have a variety of endemic species

that are only found in the northern part
of Okinawa in the Yanbaru Forest.

Now, in 2010, I got heavily involved
in documenting the animals

of the Ryukyu Islands,

primarily focusing
on wildlife conservation

as well as the protection
of endangered species.

June 10, 2010,

a friend and I were exploring
central Okinawa.

We stumbled upon a terrestrial hermit crab
that was adapting with our waste.

And when I saw this,
I was absolutely amazed

because I'd never seen
anything like this before.

I had to take a second look.

It was like we discovered
a new species or something -

absolutely amazing.

And so, of course,
I took multiple photographs of it,

and on the drive home,

all that I could think about
was this hermit crab.

Why was it adapting with our waste?

And I wanted to learn
as much as I possibly could

about this adaptive behavior.

So, as soon as I got home,
I got on the computer,

and I researched
information concerning this,

and I couldn't find anything out there.

So, I immediately made contact
with a popular publication agency,

and I told them the story of finding
this hermit crab adapting with our waste:

"And I think it would make
a great topic for your magazine."

And I provided the images as well.

And kindly and respectively,
the editor got back to me and stated,

"Thank you.

This makes a great topic,

but we do have our stories
already planned out for the year,

but please post it
on our online photo sharing site."

So sure enough, I did.

And I didn't get any feedback from it,

and I was sightly discouraged

because I knew in my mind
that this would make a powerful topic.

Years went by

without seeing another hermit crab
adapting with our waste.

And it wasn't until 2014

when I started focusing on photographing
the animals on our coastlines

specifically during the night

that I started finding
more of these hermit crabs

adapting with our waste.

So at that point, I decided
to start my own project

called "Crabs with Beach Trash Homes."

And I was highly motivated
to document as many as I possibly could,

and I even had friends and family
assisting with this as well.

And with their help, we were able
to document over 60 crabs

that were found naturally using our waste.

Now, this was a great opportunity for me

to focus on improving
my photography skills

as well as my lighting.

Now, I wanted to deliver
documentation photographs,

but I also wanted to provide
dramatic lighting as well

so all the images did not look the same.

So, I spent most of my time
photographing these hermit crabs

with high-powered flashlights

as well as flash on camera

as well as flash off camera

with different diffusion materials

and different light angles.

I spent most of my time
photographing these hermit crabs

on beaches with abundance of trash,

and it seemed like the trashier the beach,
the more hermit crabs I seemed to find.

Most of these items
that were washed ashore

were single-use items,
or throw-away items.

Found lot of medicine prescriptions,

styrofoam,

plastic twist-off caps

as well as bottles,

plastic,

forks, knives, spoons,

lighters, flip flops,
shotgun shells, ropes,

cigarette butts and more.

I also took a scientific approach
when photographing these hermit crabs.

I photographed them
for the Meet your Neighbors project,

which is dedicated
to connecting people worldwide

with the wildlife in their community.

And this method really stood out

because it focused on the beauty
and the detail of the hermit crab

as well as what trash it was using.

And it eliminated any distracting
elements in the background.

But at first, this project just didn't get
the recognition that I expected.

Now, was this because I didn't have
the powerful content,

or was it because I wasn't reaching
the right people or the right editors,

or was it because people don't enjoy
looking at images of trash

on their wall, right?

Because realistically what people prefer
to have on their walls

are images of beach scenes,
seascapes, sunrises,

and so at this point, I decided
to change the perspective of things

and photograph these hermit crabs
in beautiful light

during sunset next to these scenes

so people would start
looking at this issue,

they would see it in a different light.

Now, the hermit crabs
are the caretakers of the shoreline.

They mainly feed on
the marine life that wash ashore.

As well as they feed on fruit
and help out with seed dispersal.

And they even clean up our waste
after beach barbecues and parties

when people throw leftovers on the ground.

They are the scavengers of the shoreline.

These hermit crabs,
they prefer to have a solid shell

to protect their sensitive body,
their sensitive abdomen.

And they will even adapt with the tree nut
if nothing else is available.

Now, some of the most
interesting man-made items

that I have found
the hermit crabs adapting with

have been screws from light bulb ends,

glass bottles,

measuring scoops,

and laundry detergent caps.

So, why do these hermit crabs adapt
with our waste in the first place?

Is there a limited number of shells
due to over collecting on our shorelines?

That's definitely possible.

But what we do know is
these crabs, they grow, they get bigger,

and they have to constantly upgrade
their current mobile home.

They fight over this valuable real estate.

Eventually, the strong
will push out the weak.

The weak will abandon the shell,

and eventually, it has to find
something to deal with, to adapt with.

And they don't prefer to have our waste,
to adapt with our trash.

They're just temporarily making due
with what is available at the time.

Now, in Okinawa, hermit crabs
have few predators:

mainly other hermit crabs, ants, birds

and of course, humans.

Their biggest threat: habitat loss

and over collecting to the pet trade.

Every hermit crab
that you see in the pet shop

was taken from the wild.

Now at first, I was absolutely fascinated
with the crab's ability to adapt

to its changing environment
that was drastically affected by humans.

The more and more
I photographed these crabs,

the more concerned I was
with the amount of waste

that was washing up
on our beautiful shorelines.

Now, we're guilty of polluting
our environment in some way or form.

So, how can we fix this problem?

What can we do to make a difference?

First, we could start off
by reducing single-use items

that we use and purchase on a daily basis

and make the switch to reusable resources.

Now, the two items
that pose the biggest threat

in our community and our oceans

are plastic bags and twist-off caps
from beverage bottles.

We could easily switch
to reusable products on a daily basis.

We're all capable of doing that.

Next, we need to do a better job

of preventing the waste
getting in the ocean in the first place

by ensuring that
we're disposing of our trash

as well as recycling it better.

And last, we need to do a better job
of collecting the waste

from the ocean as well as the shoreline.

And how can all of us
make a difference in this?

By simply participating
in a beach clean-up.

This is extremely beneficial
to the environment

as well as to the community.

We're all capable of doing it, all ages.

And we have the ability to inspire others
through social media posts

to do something great for the environment

because the more we learn about nature,
the more we want to protect it.

So, why is it important to remove
this trash, this plastic pollution,

on our shorelines now?

Now, the longer it stays on the shore,

it becomes weathered, it becomes brittle,

it breaks down into smaller pieces,

it photodegrades.

Then it becomes much more difficult
to clean up, to pick up.

As well as eventually,
it washes back out to sea

and starts affecting the wildlife

from the bottom of the food chain
and working its way back up.

Now, the hermit crab
is one of the few animals

that can successfully adapt
with our waste.

Now, we are destroying our environment
with these single-use items

at an unstoppable rate.

We've seen all the warning signs.

Now it's time to act.

All it takes is making some small changes
in our daily activities

that can make a difference in our future.

Thank you.

(Applause)