1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:04,320 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:10,440 Speaker 1: Hey brain Stuff, Lauren bog Obam. Here it's not quite 3 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: the notes of BlackBerry with oaky overtones that you might 4 00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: find in a cab salve. But marine scientists recently called 5 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:21,400 Speaker 1: on wine chemists to determine why plastic smells like food 6 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:25,240 Speaker 1: to seabirds, and the chemists found out that when plastic 7 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: is left in the ocean, it gains a hint of 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,920 Speaker 1: the sulfur compound dimethyl sulfide, or d m S, which 9 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,839 Speaker 1: is a chemical released by algae. And even though it's stinky, 10 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,120 Speaker 1: d MS is odor has been likened to rotten cabbages. 11 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,400 Speaker 1: That smell is like a dinner bell for some long 12 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: billed super sniffer seabirds. The study, published in Science Advances, 13 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: examined why some seabirds mistake plastic for chow. It turns 14 00:00:52,760 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: out that d MS is a smell they associate with 15 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,520 Speaker 1: the aroma of food. Well, once they realize they haven't 16 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:01,720 Speaker 1: found food at all, it's too late. They've already got 17 00:01:01,720 --> 00:01:05,559 Speaker 1: a snootful and a belly fold of plastic. The study 18 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:09,600 Speaker 1: also explains why some species such as petrols, albatross and 19 00:01:09,680 --> 00:01:13,000 Speaker 1: other tube noses are more prone to binging on plastic 20 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: than others. The studies lead author, Matthew Savoca, who participated 21 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:20,320 Speaker 1: in it as a graduate student at e C. Davis, 22 00:01:20,360 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: explained the researchers angle in a press release. He said, 23 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:27,280 Speaker 1: animals usually have a reason for the decisions they make. 24 00:01:27,640 --> 00:01:30,360 Speaker 1: If we want to truly understand why animals are eating 25 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:32,720 Speaker 1: plastic in the ocean, we have to think about how 26 00:01:32,760 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: animals find food. Tube noses had already been shown to 27 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:41,160 Speaker 1: follow their noses to food, and so the first step 28 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:44,040 Speaker 1: for the study was to learn what plastic smells like 29 00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 1: after it's been in the water. The scientists loaded pellets 30 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,720 Speaker 1: of three common types of plastic, high density polyethylene, low 31 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: density polyethylene, and polypropylene into mesh bags and tied the 32 00:01:56,200 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: bags to a buoy in the ocean at Monterey Bay 33 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: and Bodega Bay off the California coast. Three weeks later, 34 00:02:02,560 --> 00:02:05,280 Speaker 1: the bags were collected, and then the wine experts at 35 00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 1: the u C. Davis Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and 36 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: Food Science were called in. A chemical analyzer showed that 37 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:15,240 Speaker 1: the plastics smelled of d MS thanks to algae that 38 00:02:15,280 --> 00:02:18,799 Speaker 1: had coated the plastic. The chemical is released when animals 39 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 1: such as krill, a tube nose favorite food eat the algae, 40 00:02:22,800 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 1: and this works to alert the birds to the presence 41 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,040 Speaker 1: of a meal of their own. It's a case of 42 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: having a world class sniffer not being a good thing. 43 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: The researchers found that the seabirds that follow their noses 44 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:37,639 Speaker 1: via d MS to food are almost six times more 45 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: likely to ingest plastic as other birds. Study estimated that 46 00:02:42,840 --> 00:02:47,600 Speaker 1: an alarming of seabirds eat plastic. Sharp pieces of plastic 47 00:02:47,680 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: can injure their internal organs, while soft pieces can affect 48 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,920 Speaker 1: body weight. Since plastic takes up space in the stomach 49 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,680 Speaker 1: without giving any nutrition. The health effects of plastic on 50 00:02:57,760 --> 00:03:01,079 Speaker 1: birds have not been completely studied, but more than four 51 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: point eight million metric tons of plastic waste are dumped 52 00:03:04,080 --> 00:03:07,079 Speaker 1: into the ocean every year. Some estimates put the amount 53 00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:10,519 Speaker 1: as high as twelve point seven million metric tons, so 54 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,560 Speaker 1: this is another good reason to reduce, reuse, and or 55 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:23,200 Speaker 1: recycle your plastics. Today's episode is based on the article 56 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,080 Speaker 1: There's a Stinky Reason Seabirds eat plastic on how stuff 57 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:29,440 Speaker 1: works dot com, written by Karen Kirkpatrick. Brain Stuff is 58 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:31,720 Speaker 1: production by Heart Radio in partnership with how Stuff works 59 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:34,320 Speaker 1: dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more 60 00:03:34,360 --> 00:03:37,000 Speaker 1: podcasts in My Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, 61 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,800 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.