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Plastic debris 'killing Adriatic loggerhead turtles'
By Mark Simpson
Reporting for BBC News
One in three loggerhead turtles in the Adriatic Sea has plastic in its intestine, according to researchers studying the impact of debris on marine life.
The shallow waters of the Adriatic are important feeding grounds for the turtles as they develop into adults.
But the sea-floor is one of the most polluted in Europe.
The team studied the bodies of dead sea turtles that had been stranded or accidentally caught by fishing vessels.
The impacts of debris on marine creatures are not entirely clear. But scientists have found that animals ranging from invertebrates to large mammals consume plastic waste and are concerned that it could damage their health.
Read the research paper in Marine Pollution Bulletin
For a turtle, just a few grams of debris can be fatal if it obstructs the gut.
Loggerheads (Caretta caretta) are ingesting marine debris including plastic bags, wrapping foils, ropes, polystyrene foam and fishing line.
Plastic can weaken the turtles by taking up space in the gut which would otherwise digest food.
In the shallow coastal waters of the northern Adriatic the turtles are able to progress to feeding on the sea floor at a young age.
Find out more about turtles, terrapins and tortoises on BBC Wildlife Finder
"It is important to know more about the Adriatic Sea in order to help loggerhead turtles across the whole Mediterranean." says Romana Gracan, one of the researchers.
The waste comes from the dense population of four million people who live along the coast and are joined each summer by 18 million tourists.
Where the Mediterranean is too deep for the turtles to reach the sea floor, they feed on floating animals.But in shallower coastal waters of the Adriatic they take the opportunity to feast on larger sea-floor animals. This brings them into contact with large amounts of debris.
Chemical pollution in the Adriatic has been studied for more than 30 years and is already central to marine conservation in the Mediterranean.
The researchers hope that, now they have shown that the turtles are particularly vulnerable to plastic debris, more will be done to reduce it.
"Loggerheads are opportunistic feeders which will eat almost anything that is in front of them," says Dr Gracan.
This article discusses a sad phenomenon, but the positive we can take away from it is to pick up trash wherever we are and contact town officials if trash is escaping or overflowing systems.
that is sad.......
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