Science News

Seabirds Eat Plastic Because It Smells Like Food

Photo from Pixabay

Plastic polluting the seas and beaches gives off a smell that reminds sea birds of food, drawing them to debris. This discovery could explain why seabirds like albatrosses and petrels swallow plastic items, often causing them injuries and deaths.

The smell, similar to that of decaying seaweed, comes from the breakdown of plankton that sticks to plastic, the BBC reports. This attracts foraging seabirds, 90% of which have eaten plastic at one point. A lot of these remain in the birds’ stomachs, putting them at great health risks.

Scientists believe that seabirds associate the smell coming from plastic waste with food, so they swallow it. Matthew Savoca of the University of California Davis says, “These seabirds actually use odors to find their way around in the world and to find food.” He explains,

We found a chemical on plastic that these birds typically associate with food, but now it’s being associated with plastic. And so these birds might be very confused – and tricked into consuming plastic as food.

University of California researchers placed plastic microbeads into mesh bags and hung them out in the ocean. After three weeks of exposure, they analyzed the microbeads. No new components were found, but three kinds of plastic had acquired a specific chemical scent.

The chemical, dimethyl sulfide, has a sulphurous smell like that of boiling cabbage or rotting seaweed. Seabirds with a sharp sense of smell can pick up on this odor quickly, which they associate with food. In addition, visual cues like the shine of plastic may be attracting the birds.

The researchers are looking into further studies to see if other marine animals like turtles, fish or penguins are also drawn to these chemicals in plastic. Eventually, the scientists hope it will be possible to develop plastics that break down faster to prevent birds from eating them.

Savoca says, “Even knowing which species are most at risk based on the way they find food is informative – because it helps us – the scientific community – figure out how to best allocate monitoring and conservation effort to those species most at need.”

The study was published in the journal Science Advances.

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