Why Do Seabirds Eat Plastic?

One of the problems with plastic trash ending up in our oceans is that some seabirds will eat it. But why? Learn what researchers have found in this episode of BrainStuff, based on this article: https://animals.howstuffworks.com/birds/theres-a-stinky-reason-seabirds-eat-plastic.htm

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,
Hey brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam. Here it's not quite
the notes of BlackBerry with oaky overtones that you might
find in a cab salve. But marine scientists recently called
on wine chemists to determine why plastic smells like food
to seabirds, and the chemists found out that when plastic

(00:25):
is left in the ocean, it gains a hint of
the sulfur compound dimethyl sulfide, or d m S, which
is a chemical released by algae. And even though it's stinky,
d MS is odor has been likened to rotten cabbages.
That smell is like a dinner bell for some long
billed super sniffer seabirds. The study, published in Science Advances,

(00:48):
examined why some seabirds mistake plastic for chow. It turns
out that d MS is a smell they associate with
the aroma of food. Well, once they realize they haven't
found food at all, it's too late. They've already got
a snootful and a belly fold of plastic. The study
also explains why some species such as petrols, albatross and

(01:09):
other tube noses are more prone to binging on plastic
than others. The studies lead author, Matthew Savoca, who participated
in it as a graduate student at e C. Davis,
explained the researchers angle in a press release. He said,
animals usually have a reason for the decisions they make.
If we want to truly understand why animals are eating

(01:30):
plastic in the ocean, we have to think about how
animals find food. Tube noses had already been shown to
follow their noses to food, and so the first step
for the study was to learn what plastic smells like
after it's been in the water. The scientists loaded pellets
of three common types of plastic, high density polyethylene, low

(01:51):
density polyethylene, and polypropylene into mesh bags and tied the
bags to a buoy in the ocean at Monterey Bay
and Bodega Bay off the California coast. Three weeks later,
the bags were collected, and then the wine experts at
the u C. Davis Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and
Food Science were called in. A chemical analyzer showed that

(02:12):
the plastics smelled of d MS thanks to algae that
had coated the plastic. The chemical is released when animals
such as krill, a tube nose favorite food eat the algae,
and this works to alert the birds to the presence
of a meal of their own. It's a case of
having a world class sniffer not being a good thing.
The researchers found that the seabirds that follow their noses

(02:34):
via d MS to food are almost six times more
likely to ingest plastic as other birds. Study estimated that
an alarming of seabirds eat plastic. Sharp pieces of plastic
can injure their internal organs, while soft pieces can affect
body weight. Since plastic takes up space in the stomach
without giving any nutrition. The health effects of plastic on

(02:57):
birds have not been completely studied, but more than four
point eight million metric tons of plastic waste are dumped
into the ocean every year. Some estimates put the amount
as high as twelve point seven million metric tons, so
this is another good reason to reduce, reuse, and or
recycle your plastics. Today's episode is based on the article

(03:23):
There's a Stinky Reason Seabirds eat plastic on how stuff
works dot com, written by Karen Kirkpatrick. Brain Stuff is
production by Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuff works
dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more
podcasts in My Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.