Study
Sensory ecology on the high seas: the odor world of the procellariiform seabirds
Nevitt, Gabrielle A.
Journal of Experimental Biology, 2008
Reviews at-sea experiments in which albatrosses, petrels and shearwaters were presented with slicks of dimethyl sulphide and other prey-associated odours, alongside work on the oceanographic features where those compounds are produced.
- Studied in
- Procellariiformes
- Sample size
- review of at-sea odour experiments and tracking
Several procellariiform species are attracted to dimethyl sulphide, a compound released where plankton are grazed, and the compound is concentrated over predictable seafloor features rather than being uniformly distributed.
What it means
The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.
How the authors put it
Seabirds can use an odour landscape at ocean scale, and that landscape has structure because the ocean does.
How NatureHQ reads it
The record behind NatureHQ’s statement that the open ocean is not featureless. It also draws a distinction the olfactory pages depend on: finding food by following a plume is not the same as knowing where you are from a smell, and this work supports the first far more strongly than the second.
- Attraction experiments show foraging responses, not positional navigation.
- Species differ: not every procellariiform responds, and the tube-nosed seabirds are unusual among birds in their olfactory anatomy.
What this study is used for on NatureHQ
One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.
Published by: The Company of BiologistsPublished by The Company of Biologists.
Checked against Crossref on 2026-09-28, and they agree on the title, the authors and the year.
NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-09-03.