Marine debris ingestion by Chelonia mydas (Testudines: Cheloniidae) on the Brazilian coast.

Abstract

Chelonia mydas is distributed in several regions of the world and they are common in coastal regions and around islands. Between August 2008 and July 2009, 20 specimens of C. mydas were found dead on the beaches of Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil. The stomachs were removed and anthropogenic wastes were separated according their malleability and color. Of those animals, nine had ingested marine debris. Soft plastic was the most frequent among the samples and the majority of fragments was white or colorless and was between zero and five cm. Many studies have shown a high incidence of eating waste for some species of sea turtles. The record of ingestion of mostly transparent and white anthropogenic wastes in this study strengthens the hypothesis that these animals mistake them for jellyfish. Although the intake of anthropogenic waste causes impact on the lives of sea turtles, such studies are still scarce in Brazil.