海龟喜欢闻脏塑料的味道

Previously, it was thought the turtles were attracted to plastic waste because they mistook it for prey, confusing things like plastic bags for jellyfish.

以前，人们认为海龟会被塑料垃圾吸引，是因为它们误以为塑料垃圾是它们的猎物，把塑料袋之类的东西当成水母。

But new research from the US, released today, suggests there may be a different reason for it.

但今天公布的一项来自美国的新研究表明，可能有别的原因。

As the plastic spends time in the ocean, microbes, algae, plants and small animals accumulate on its surface.

当塑料在海洋中停留时，微生物、藻类、植物和小动物在其表面聚集。

Instead of just visually mistaking it for prey, the researchers think that smell of the plastic is also tricking the turtles.

研究人员认为，塑料不仅仅在视觉上被误认为是猎物，塑料的气味也在欺骗海龟。

"We found that loggerhead sea turtles respond to odors from biofouled plastics in the same way they respond to food odorants, suggesting that turtles may be attracted to plastic debris not only by the way it looks, but by the way it smells," says researcher Joseph Pfaller from the University of Florida.

佛罗里达大学的研究员约瑟夫·普法勒(Joseph Pfaller)说：“我们发现红海龟对生物污染塑料气味的反应方式，与它们对食物气味的反应方式相同，这表明海龟可能不仅会被塑料碎片的外观所吸引，而且会被塑料碎片的气味所吸引。”。

"This 'olfactory trap' might help explain why sea turtles ingest and become entangled in plastic so frequently."

“这种‘嗅觉陷阱’可能有助于解释，为什么海龟会如此频繁地吞食和缠入塑料垃圾中。”

Fifteen young, captive-reared loggerhead turtles were used in the research.

研究中使用了15只幼小的圈养红海龟。

Different scents were pumped into the testing area and the researchers found the turtles would react to the smell of their food in the same way as the fouled plastic, lifting their heads out of the water and sniffing the air for longer than the control odors.

研究人员将不同的气味注入测试区域，发现海龟对食物气味的反应方式与污染的塑料一样，它们将头部抬出水面，在空气中嗅探的时间比对照组更长。

Mr Pfaller says they were surprised by the results, expecting the turtles to react more to their food - which they're used to - than the biofouled plastic.

普法勒表示，他们对这一结果感到惊讶，他们预计海龟对食物的反应会比生物塑料对食物的反应更强烈——这是他们习惯的做法。

"The plastic problem in the ocean is more complex than plastic bags that look like jellyfish or the errant straw stuck in a turtle's nose," he says.

他说：“海洋中的塑料问题，比看起来像水母的塑料袋或卡在海龟鼻子里的吸管要复杂得多。”。

More studies are needed to help figure out what it is about the plastics that's making them so alluring for turtles, Mr Pfaller says, such as which chemicals are coming from the plastic.

普法勒表示，还需要更多的研究来帮助弄清楚，是什么使塑料对海龟如此具有吸引力，比如哪些化学物质来自塑料。

The research was published in the journal Current Biology today.

这项研究发表在今天的《当代生物学》杂志上。