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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.
Plastic debris is ingested by hundreds of species of organisms, from zooplankton to baleen whales, but how such a diversity of consumers can mistake plastic for their natural prey is largely unknown. The sensory mechanisms underlying plastic detection and consumption have rarely been examined within the context of sensory signals driving marine food web dynamics. We demonstrate experimentally that marine-seasoned microplastics produce a dimethyl sulfide (DMS) signature that is also a keystone odorant for natural trophic interactions. We further demonstrate a positive relationship between DMS responsiveness and plastic ingestion frequency using procellariiform seabirds as a model taxonomic group. Together, these results suggest that plastic debris emits the scent of a marine infochemical, creating an olfactory trap for susceptible marine wildlife.
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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.
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.
Smells good enough to eat: Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) enhances copepod ingestion of microplastics
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Copepods (Calanus helgolandicus) were exposed to microplastics infused with the algal odor compound dimethyl sulfide (DMS), and showed 72–292% higher ingestion rates of DMS-scented microplastics compared to unscented controls. The findings suggest that environmental conditioning of microplastics with algal-derived compounds triggers chemosensory foraging behavior in copepods, making them actively prefer plastic particles over inert debris.
Can plastic related chemicals be indicators of plastic ingestion in an Arctic seabird?
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Researchers measured plastic-related chemicals in the blood and liver of Arctic seabirds known to ingest large amounts of plastic, finding that most chemical concentrations did not correlate with the amount of plastic ingested — suggesting seabirds are also exposed to these chemicals through their food, not just through eating plastic.
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.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.