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Contrary to Marine Environments, Common Microplastics in Freshwater Systems May Not Emit Dimethyl Sulfide: An Important Infochemical
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This study found that, unlike in marine environments where microplastics emit dimethyl sulfide signals that attract foragers, common microplastics in freshwater systems do not appear to produce such chemical cues. This suggests that microplastic ingestion in freshwater species may occur through different mechanisms than the olfactory pathways implicated in marine environments.
The ingestion of microplastics by marine species has been at least partially attributed to plastics emitting a dimethyl sulfide signature when exposed to marine conditions. Dimethyl sulfide, a member of the volatile organic sulfur compounds group, is an infochemical that many species rely on to locate and identify prey while foraging. Microplastic ingestion is also observed in freshwater systems; however, this study shows that the same dimethyl sulfide signature is not obtained by three common types of plastic (high-density polyethylene, low-density polyethylene, and polystyrene) in freshwater systems, suggesting that there may be an alternate mechanism driving plastic ingestion by freshwater species.
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Plastic Litter Emits the Foraging Infochemical Dimethyl Sulfide after Submersion in Freshwater Rivers.
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Plastic litter submerged in freshwater rivers was found to emit dimethyl sulfide (DMS), the same odorous chemical that marine organisms use as a foraging cue and that has been shown to attract wildlife to plastic in the ocean. This suggests that the same chemical signaling mechanism may be causing freshwater invertebrates and fish to mistake plastic debris for food.
Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds
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Researchers showed experimentally that marine plastic debris emits dimethyl sulfide — a chemical cue that seabirds use to locate food — which may explain why seabirds and other marine animals frequently mistake plastics for prey. This sensory deception mechanism could account for the widespread ingestion of plastic debris across many marine species.
Natural infochemical DMSP stimulates the transfer of microplastics from freshwater zooplankton to fish: An olfactory trap
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A natural algae-derived compound (DMSP) acts as an olfactory cue that causes fish to consume microplastic-laden zooplankton, inadvertently increasing plastic particle transfer up freshwater food chains.
Natural infochemical DMSP stimulates the transfer of microplastics from freshwater zooplankton to fish: An olfactory trap
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A natural algae-derived chemical compound called DMSP acts as an olfactory attractant that causes fish to preferentially consume zooplankton loaded with microplastics, inadvertently accelerating the transfer of plastic particles up the freshwater food chain.
Natural infochemical DMSP stimulates the transfer of microplastics from freshwater zooplankton to fish: An olfactory trap
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Researchers found that the natural algal chemical DMSP stimulates zooplankton to ingest more microplastics and then transfer them to fish through predation — acting as an olfactory trap. This unexpected mechanism accelerates the trophic transfer of microplastics through freshwater food chains, potentially increasing microplastic accumulation in fish consumed by humans.
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