IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i16p7147-d1460078.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Analysis of Plastic Ingestion by Juvenile Loggerhead Sea Turtles ( Caretta caretta ) Stranded from Tenerife, Canary Islands

Author

Listed:
  • Marina Tortosa

    (Department of Animal Biology, University of Málaga, 29016 Málaga, Spain)

  • Juan Jesús Bellido

    (Department of Animal Biology, University of Málaga, 29016 Málaga, Spain
    Aula del Mar Mediterranean Foundation, 29004 Málaga, Spain)

  • José Carlos Báez

    (Oceanographic Center of Malaga, Spanish Institute of Oceanography (CSIC), 29640 Málaga, Spain
    Ibero-American Institute for Sustainable Development, Universidad Autónoma de Chile, Temuco 4810101, Chile)

Abstract

The exponential rise in plastic debris in oceans poses a severe threat to marine biodiversity, including loggerhead sea turtles ( Caretta caretta ) due to their widespread distribution and feeding habits. The present study aimed to assess plastic ingestion in juvenile loggerhead sea turtles stranded in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Among the 312 turtles admitted to the Wildlife Recovery Center “La Tahonilla” from July 2018 to November 2020, bycatch (20.8%) and entanglement (15.4%) were the primary admission causes, with significantly higher strandings in the island’s western region. Of these, 37 turtles (11.9%) had ingested plastic debris, totaling 546 pieces (average 14.59 ± 26.57 per turtle). Predominantly, filaments (44%), sheets (34%), and fragments (23%) were identified, with most being macroplastics (67%) in white or transparent colors. These findings, consistent with similar studies, underscore loggerhead sea turtles’ role as bioindicators of sea water pollution. They also highlight the urgent need for sustainable practices to mitigate plastic pollution in marine environments, preserve marine biodiversity, and achieve global sustainability goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Marina Tortosa & Juan Jesús Bellido & José Carlos Báez, 2024. "Analysis of Plastic Ingestion by Juvenile Loggerhead Sea Turtles ( Caretta caretta ) Stranded from Tenerife, Canary Islands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-15, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:16:p:7147-:d:1460078
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/16/7147/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/16/7147/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:16:p:7147-:d:1460078. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.