| Title: | Comment on 'Marine plastic debris emits a keystone infochemical for olfactory foraging seabirds' by Savoca et al |
| Author(s): | Dell'Ariccia G; Phillips RA; van Franeker JA; Gaidet N; Catry P; Granadeiro JP; Ryan PG; Bonadonna F; |
| Address: | "Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive UMR 5175, CNRS - Universite de Montpellier - Universite Paul-Valery Montpellier - EPHE - Montpellier, France. British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Cambridge, UK. Wageningen Marine Research, Den Helder, Netherlands. Centre de Cooperation Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Developpement (CIRAD), UMR ASTRE, F-34398 Montpellier, France. CIRAD, UPR GREEN, F-34398 Montpellier, France. Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA-Instituto Universitario, Lisbon, Portugal. CESAM-Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar, Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciencias, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal. FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2375-2548 (Electronic) 2375-2548 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "In their recent paper, Savoca and collaborators (2016) showed that plastic debris in the ocean may acquire a dimethyl sulfide (DMS) signature from biofouling developing on their surface. According to them, DMS emission may represent an olfactory trap for foraging seabirds, which explains patterns of plastic ingestion among procellariiform seabirds. This hypothesis is appealing, but some of the data that Savoca et al. used to support their claim are questionable, resulting in a misclassification of species, as well as other decisions regarding the variables to include in their models. Furthermore, with their focus on a single lifestyle trait (nesting habit) of dubious relevance for explaining plastic ingestion, Savoca et al. neglect the opportunity to explore other factors that might provide better ecological insight. Finally, we are deeply concerned by the conservation policy recommendation proposed by Savoca et al.-to increase antifouling properties of consumer plastics-which constitutes a substantial environmental risk and delivers the wrong message to decision-makers. The reduction of plastic consumption, waste prevention, and proactive reuse through a circular economy should be at the heart of policy recommendations for future mitigation efforts" |
| Keywords: | Animals *Birds Eating *Plastics Smell Waste Products/analysis Dms dimethyl sulphide olfaction plastic ingestion procellariiformes seabirds; |
| Notes: | "MedlineDell'Ariccia, Gaia Phillips, Richard A van Franeker, Jan A Gaidet, Nicolas Catry, Paulo Granadeiro, Jose P Ryan, Peter G Bonadonna, Francesco eng Comment 2017/08/07 Sci Adv. 2017 Jun 28; 3(6):e1700526. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.1700526. eCollection 2017 Jun" |
