Human Impact on Loggerheads

Michael Brown

Article Review

Monitoring Debris Ingestion in Loggerheads

 In a study done it was determined that, surprisingly, the debris amount consumed by loggerhead sea turtles was not as deadly for the turtles as I previously assumed. In the areas studied, which included areas in the North-west Atlantic Ocean, North-east Pacific Ocean, and the North Pacific ocean, as well as data from research done in the Mediterranean, it was determined that though there is a high amount of debris within the loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) that were observed, the debris was usually not lethal to the turtle. The researches stated, “we found little evidence that debris have caused impactions, obstructions or perforations in the gut”. The number of lethal cases ranged from (0-2), the researches stated that another study indicated that the mortality rate of the turtles due to anthropogenic debris was ~40%, but these researches, Blasi and Mattei (2017), did not provide data on the content amount inside the loggerhead turtles. The study shows that debris in juvenile loggerheads appear often, within the western Mediterranean, but the amount ingested is low enough to not pose an apparent threat to the survival of the turtle’s population. This is also valuable to our understanding of reptiles, specifically turtles, in understanding what their diet of debris consists of and make accommodations to prevent their harm. The turtles are deemed a good indicator of the amount of pollution within the Mediterranean Sea, according to the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. This study is important to track to have more and more information of anthropogenic impacts onto the world. This data is valuable in knowing and tracking how much debris we, as humans, output, as well as the effect we have on marine life. Though this study tells us that there is a low mortality rate in the areas of study, we must still reduce the amount of anthropogenic debris in the ocean. I personally care deeply about the amount of human impact that we have on the environment, and to be more knowledgeable and have the ability to understand the data of these impacts is interesting, it is also nice to see news that is not always (too) bad. With that being said we must all still be mindful of our debris output, and use this information to constantly reduce, reuse, and recycle any time we have the ability to.  

(Above) Graph shows the weight oh anthropogenic debris, in 155 Loggerhead turtles near Eastern Spain

Authors: F. Domenech, F.J. Aznar, J.A. Raga, J. Tomas

Journal: Environmental Pollution

Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0269749118325375