A photo from open sources
Scientists have discovered why sea turtles swallow plastic waste floating in the waters of the oceans. Turned out to be animals attracted by the smell of plastic. Results of this study published in Current Biology.
According to oceanologists, in wastewater and landfills it turns out about 30 million tons of plastic waste, which falling into the oceanic waters form entire islands. The largest such a garbage formation, called the “big garbage spot”, drifting in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. A huge amount of microplastics absorbed by marine life.
Professor Kenneth Lohmann (USA), along with colleagues, observed for the migration of big-headed sea turtles and noticed that reptiles absorbed a huge amount of plastic debris. Scientists I was interested in what exactly these animals eat and how they make their a choice. Researchers have caught about a dozen young individuals and looked for their reaction to pieces of fresh and old garbage, and also food and various food ingredients.
It turned out that turtles were equally attracted to food and plastic.
Lohmann explained that sea turtles smell, which comes from plastic coated with algae and bacteria, almost as much as they perceive a variety of flavors. It turns out that sea turtles are not attracted by appearance, but by smell plastic trash. It is not yet known which substances attract the attention of these animals.
A photo from open sources
It is now known that the pollution area in the Pacific the ocean is already over 1.6 million kilometers, and the weight of drifting waste exceeds 100 million tons. Plastic under the influence of the sun breaks up into tiny particles. Many marine life, taking for plankton, use microscopic plastic in food quality. Approximately 267 marine species suffer from eating this garbage. Moreover, microplastic found everywhere including seafood that it consumes human.
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