Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds.
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...
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ftcdlib:oai:escholarship.org/ark:/13030/qt3fx529wx 2023-05-15T15:37:08+02:00 Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds. Savoca, Matthew S Wohlfeil, Martha E Ebeler, Susan E Nevitt, Gabrielle A e1600395 2016-11-09 application/pdf https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3fx529wx unknown eScholarship, University of California qt3fx529wx https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3fx529wx public Science advances, vol 2, iss 11 Animals Birds Dimethyl Sulfoxide Plastics Water Pollutants Feeding Behavior Olfactory Perception Chemical ecology conservation biology dimethyl sulfide foraging ecology marine pollution plastic debris sensory ecology article 2016 ftcdlib 2020-08-18T09:20:23Z 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. Article in Journal/Newspaper baleen whales University of California: eScholarship |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of California: eScholarship |
op_collection_id |
ftcdlib |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Animals Birds Dimethyl Sulfoxide Plastics Water Pollutants Feeding Behavior Olfactory Perception Chemical ecology conservation biology dimethyl sulfide foraging ecology marine pollution plastic debris sensory ecology |
spellingShingle |
Animals Birds Dimethyl Sulfoxide Plastics Water Pollutants Feeding Behavior Olfactory Perception Chemical ecology conservation biology dimethyl sulfide foraging ecology marine pollution plastic debris sensory ecology Savoca, Matthew S Wohlfeil, Martha E Ebeler, Susan E Nevitt, Gabrielle A Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds. |
topic_facet |
Animals Birds Dimethyl Sulfoxide Plastics Water Pollutants Feeding Behavior Olfactory Perception Chemical ecology conservation biology dimethyl sulfide foraging ecology marine pollution plastic debris sensory ecology |
description |
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. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Savoca, Matthew S Wohlfeil, Martha E Ebeler, Susan E Nevitt, Gabrielle A |
author_facet |
Savoca, Matthew S Wohlfeil, Martha E Ebeler, Susan E Nevitt, Gabrielle A |
author_sort |
Savoca, Matthew S |
title |
Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds. |
title_short |
Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds. |
title_full |
Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds. |
title_fullStr |
Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds. |
title_sort |
marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds. |
publisher |
eScholarship, University of California |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3fx529wx |
op_coverage |
e1600395 |
genre |
baleen whales |
genre_facet |
baleen whales |
op_source |
Science advances, vol 2, iss 11 |
op_relation |
qt3fx529wx https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3fx529wx |
op_rights |
public |
_version_ |
1766367592921956352 |