News in Brief Environment

Ocean plastic emits chemical that may trick seabirds into eating trash

blue petrel

Some seabirds, including blue petrels (Halobaena caerulea), use the smell of dimethyl sulfide to find food. Plastic debris in the ocean gives off the same smell, sometimes tricking the birds into eating garbage.

J.J. Harrison

By Laurel Hamers

- More than 2 years ago

Plastic smells like supper for some seabirds. When the ubiquitous material ends up in the ocean, it gives off a chemical that petrels, prions and shearwaters often use to locate food, researchers report November 9 in Science Advances.