engleski

Ingestion of marine debris by loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, in the eastern Adriatic Sea

Debris ingestion is reported in almost all sea turtle species. Due to their feeding strategy, oceanic-life stages and species that utilize convergence fronts for migration routes, like leatherbacks and loggerheads, seem to be most susceptible to debris ingestion. These two species apparently ingest more debris than other sea turtles, which may result in variety of physiological sub-lethal effects and even death. The benthic foraging strategy of loggerhead turtle in nearshore waters, where debris accumulation tends to be high, coupled with opportunistic feeding nature of the species, lends to increased chance of debris intake, and possible effect on population health. We examined the presence of anthropogenic debris in 54 loggerhead turtles (mean CCLn-t: 42.7 cm, SD: 11.5), found dead stranded or incidentally captured in the eastern Adriatic Sea (Slovenia and Croatia) in 2001-2004. This region hosts one the most important feeding habitats for the species in Mediterranean basin, shared by juveniles and adults. We’ ve removed digestive tract during necropsy and isolated debris. Debris samples were later air-dried and weighted. Debris was found in 19 turtles (35.2%), with plastic being prevalent type of debris, recorded in 13 turtles (24.1%). Nearly all ingested plastics where white colored, light or translucent. Ropes, lines, styrofoam, small pieces of latex and unknown hard material were also present. Dry weigh of ingested debris was low (<0.01 – 0.71 g), with no clear evidence that it directly caused death of any turtle. However, considering relatively high occurrence of debris intake and possible sub-lethal effects that it may cause even when ingested in small quantities, marine debris can be a factor of concern for population health of loggerheads foraging in the Adriatic Sea.

sea turtles; marine pollution; debris ingestion; health

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