Article Review: Ingestion of marine debris by loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, in the Adriatic Sea

Pollution of Earth’s water resources has been an area of growing concern for many years.  Along with negatively affecting water quality, it also causes harm to aquatic and semi-aquatic animals.  Sea turtles, like Caretta caretta, have been particularly affected by pollution.  Man-made debris apparently looks very appetizing to these turtles and has been known to cause intestinal problems or even death after being consumed.  This article by Bojan Lazar and Romana Gračan attempts to explore how much debris loggerhead turtles in the Adriatic Sea are consuming and how this may be affecting the native populations.

From 2001 to 2004, the researchers obtained 54 dead loggerhead sea turtles from the Adriatic Sea that had either been accidentally captured by fishermen or had died after becoming stranded.  They would then take measurements of carapace length and determine the sex before cutting them open to discover the contents of the turtles’ stomachs.  The contents were put into four categories: Styrofoam, plastic, rope and monofilament lines.  They were then further divided by color.

In 19 of the 54 sea turtles, the researchers discovered 84 pieces of man-made debris.  Plastic was the most common form of debris obtained, followed by rope, Styrofoam and then monofilament lines. 

White or translucent were the most common colors found inside the turtles’ stomachs.  Other colors found included: red, black, green and brown.  According to the results, the size and sex of the loggerheads did not seem to have any effect on the type, size or color of the ingested debris.

The results of this study show that man-made debris that is polluting the Adriatic Sea could be negatively affecting the local Caretta caretta population.  The ingestion of debris can cause digestive problems, lower energy intake, and death among sea turtles.  Floating debris, like the categories described in this article, are particularly prone to consumption by loggerhead sea turtles.

The findings reported from this article suggest that pollution should be of great concern to people that strive for the well-being of the loggerhead populations, not just in the Adriatic Sea, but across its habitat range.  The reduction of the amount of debris that is allowed to enter the world’s oceans will help decrease the number of ingestion cases among loggerhead sea turtles.  This will help save the worldwide population of endangered loggerhead sea turtles.

Article: Ingestion of marine debris by loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, in the Adriatic Sea
Authors: Bojan Lazar and Romana Gračan
Journal: Marine Pollution Bulletin Vol. 61, Issue 1, January 2011, pages 43-47

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X10004297#