Seabirds Eat Plastic Because They Find Smell Appetizing, Study Finds

DAVIS (KCBS) – New research indicates seabirds eat plastic debris because the animals think the trash smells like food.

Researchers at the University of California, Davis said lots of seabirds sniff out their meals by tracking the smell of dying algae. That usually leads them to krill, which feed on algae.

But the new research finds the birds may be homing in on plastic trash, which gets coated with organic matter and ends up giving off a dying-algae smell.

When the birds descend for a feeding frenzy, they wind up eating bits of Styrofoam and other plastic instead of tasty krill.