Whileweknowthatsomemarineanimals
seemtoeatplasticbecauseit lookslike
jellyfishor someotherfoodsource,less
researchhasbeencarriedoutintowhat
plasticsmellsliketothesecreatures.But
nowa studyfromtheUniversityofNorth
Carolinaat ChapelHillhasfoundthat
thecoatingofalgaeandmicrobesthat
naturallybuildsuponoceanplasticcauses
it togiveoffthearomaoffood.
Theresearcherstook 15 captive-
rearedloggerheadturtles,eacharound
five monthsold,and placedthemin a
laboratoryaquarium.Theythenpipedin
aromasofcleanwater,cleanplastic,turtle
food,andplasticthathadbeensoakingin
the marineenvironmentfor five weeks.
Theturtlesshowednoreactiontothe
odoursofcleanwaterorcleanplastic.But
whentheywereexposedtothesmellsof
ocean-soakedplasticorturtlefood,they
exhibitedforagingbehaviour– likepoking
theirnosesoutofthewaterandshowing
increasedactivity.
“Thisfindingis importantbecauseit’s
the firstdemonstrationthatthe odour
ofoceanplasticscausesanimalstoeat
them,”saidDrKennethJ Lohmann,who
tookpartinthestudy.“It’scommonto
findloggerheadturtleswiththeirdigestive
systems fully or partially blocked becauseOceanplasticsturtle-y smelllike foodMARINE BIOLOGYLARS CHITTKA, ALAMY, ESO
Theamountofplastic
pollutionintheoceansis
rapidlyincreasing.Thisis
problematic,asatleast
700 speciesofmarine
animals– including
sharks,whales,seabirds
andturtles– canbecome
entangledinit ormistake
it for a tasty snack“It’scommontofindloggerheadturtleswiththeir digestivesystemsblockedbecausethey’veeatenplastic materials”they’veeatenplasticmaterials.
Therealsoareincreasingreportsof
seaturtlesthathavebecomeilland
strandedonthebeachduetotheir
ingestionofplastic.”
Accordingtotheresearchers,
areasoftheoceanwithdense
concentrationsofplasticmaytrick
turtlesandotheranimalsinto
thinkingthatthereis anabundant
foodsource,whenthereverseis true.
“Oncetheseplasticsareintheocean,
wedon’thavea goodwaytoremove
themorpreventthemfromsmelling
likefood,”saidLohmann.“Thebest
thingwecandois tokeepplastic
from getting into the ocean at all.”Tastymealordeadlythreat?
Theplasticbagsmellsthe
same to this turtle