title: Presence of plastic debris in loggerhead turtle stranded along the Tuscany coasts of the Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean Marine Mammals (Italy).
abstract: This work evaluated the presence and the frequency of occurrence of marine litter in the gastrointestinal tract of 31 Caretta caretta found stranded or accidentally bycaught in the North Tyrrhenian Sea. Marine debris were present in 71% of specimens and were subdivided in different categories according to Fulmar Protocol (OSPAR 2008). The main type of marine debris found was user plastic, with the main occurrence of sheetlike user plastic. The small juveniles showed a mean±SD of marine debris items of 19.00±23.84, while the adult specimens showed higher values of marine litter if compared with the juveniles (26.87±35.85). The occurrence of marine debris observed in this work confirms the high impact of marine debris in the Mediterranean Sea in respect to other seas and oceans, and highlights the importance of Caretta caretta as good indicator for marine litter in the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) of European Union.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy. Electronic address: campani@unisi.it.
authors.forename: Tommaso
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Campani
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baini
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giannetti
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cancelli
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mancusi
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Serena
authors.forename: Letizia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marsili
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Casini
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Fossi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D056727:Endangered Species; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005766:Gastrointestinal Contents / Q000737:chemistry*; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D010969:Plastics / Q000032:analysis*; D014426:Turtles; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D010969:Plastics; D014873:Water Pollutants
keywords: Loggerhead turtle; Marine debris; Plastic; Tyrrhenian Sea