Bioindicators of Plastic Pollution: Insights into the Relationship between Environmental Plastic Abundance and Ingestion by Green Turtles (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>)
Robson G. Santos, Adriano Carvalho Vasconcelos, Priscilla Monteiro de Oliveira, João Paulo Felix Augusto de Almeida, Ivanise Brito da Silva, Bruno Stefanis Santos Pereira de Oliveira, Matthew S. Savoca, Guilherme Ramos Demétrio
Abstract
High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The increase in waste production over recent decades has become a global issue with plastic pollution taking center stage. To respond, we require tools to design and monitor the effectiveness of policies aimed at tackling plastic pollution. However, a key question remains unanswered: “What is the relationship between plastic accumulated in the environment and the plastic ingestion by wildlife?” To address this, we evaluated the relationship between plastic accumulated in the environment and plastic ingested by the green sea turtle ( Chelonia mydas ), at regional and local scales. We found a decoupling between plastic in the environment and plastic ingestion at regional and local scale. However, we found a strong relationship when evaluating flexible plastics, where an increase of 1 item/m 2 on the beach may lead to a more than 100-fold increase in plastic ingestion. A common finding across both scales is the negative correlation between the turtle size and the number of items of plastic ingested by green turtles. Taking advantage of the present results on Chelonia mydas in Brazilian waters, our work highlights the importance of species’ ecology and environmental plastic abundance for informative monitoring through bioindicator species.