Differential impact of marine debris ingestion during ontogenetic dietary shift of green turtles in Uruguayan waters

VÉLEZ-RUBIO, G.M.; TERYDA, N.; ASAROFF, P.E.; ESTRADES, A.; RODRIGUEZ, D.; TOMÁS, J.

MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2018 vol. 127 p. 603 - 611

0025-326X

Anthropogenic debris ingestion has been reported for green turtles in all their life stages worldwide. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the marine debris ingestion by green turtles stranded in Uruguayan coast between 2005 and 2013. Debris items were categorized and quantified by frequency of occurrence, relative weight, volume and number of items. A total of 96 dead stranded turtles were analyzed and 70% presented debris in their guts. The majority of debris found were plastic, being hard plastics the most abundant in weight and volume. The best model explaining the variability of the amount of debris ingested included turtle size, Julian day and distance from the estuary. We detected a negative correlation between the presence of debris and turtle´s size. Smaller turtles are new recruits to neritic grounds indicating that the early juvenile stage of this species is the most vulnerable to this threat in the Southwestern Atlantic.