Studies on the Ingestion of Plastic and Latex by Sea Turtles
Lutz P. 1990. Studies on the Ingestion of Plastic and Latex by Sea Turtles. Pages 719 - 735. In Shomura RS and Godfrey ML (ed): Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Marine Debris. Honolulu, HI. 2 - 7 April, 1989. U.S. Department of Commerce; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; National Marine Fisheries Service
Small pieces of latex and plastic sheeting were offered to sea turtles on different occasions and the turtles' feeding behavior was noted, as well as the time taken for the turtles to pass ingested materials. The physiological and clinical status of turtles that had consumed plastic sheeting was also monitored. Ye observed that green sea and loggerhead turtles actively seek out and consume the offered material. Some color preference was shown, clear plastic having the lowest acceptance rate. The amount consumed was influenced by appetite. At the low feeding levels allowed in these experiments, we detected no effects of plastic ingestion on gut function, metabolic rate, blood chemistry, liver function, or salt balance. However, blood glucose declined for 9 days following ingestion, indicating a possible interference in energy metabolism or gut function. The sojourn of the ingested latex material in the gut ranged from a few days to 4 months. Moreover, some of the turtles passed multiple pieces all bound together, although they had ingested the individual pieces at different times. Since the gut clearance time for food is in the order of days, it appears that some of the latex pieces were being held up in the intestine. Latex pieces that had been retained for the longest time in the gut showed evidence of deterioration.
- Type
- Conference Proceeding Paper
- Authors
- Lutz, Peter
- Units
- SFCN
- Keywords
- Diet, Digestion, Feeding Habits, Human Impact, Physical, Physiology, Pollution, trash