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Assessing the impacts of urban development and tourism on sea turtles and their habitat: a systematic review
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This review of 45 studies looked at how coastal development and tourism harm sea turtles through threats like light pollution, microplastics, and heavy metals in their habitats. It matters for us too: the same pollution and plastic buildup affecting turtles on our beaches and in our oceans often ends up in the seafood we eat, so protecting these coastal ecosystems is really about protecting a shared environment. The researchers found that scientists aren't yet measuring these threats in consistent ways, making it hard to track the bigger picture of coastal pollution and its ripple effects.
Abstract Coastal urbanization and tourism are rapidly expanding, intensifying pressures on sea turtles and the habitats they depend on. Although numerous studies document anthropogenic threats, the indicators used to quantify the specific impacts of these two drivers remain fragmented and inconsistent. This systematic review synthesizes global evidence on how tourism and urban development affect sea turtles across life stages and identifies the indicators employed to assess these effects. Following PRISMA guidelines, 5,886 publications from 1960 to 2025 were screened, and 45 met all eligibility criteria. Most studies were conducted in Mexico, Brazil, and the United States, with a strong focus on green and loggerhead turtles, especially on nesting beaches. Urban development assessments commonly used standardized spatial, chemical, and physiological indicators such as light pollution, microplastics, heavy metals, and habitat alteration facilitating alignment with global monitoring frameworks. In contrast, tourism studies relied mainly on behavioral indicators, including nest abandonment, altered movement patterns, and vessel-related disturbances, which are less comparable across regions. Overall, the findings reveal limited methodological cohesion and highlight the need for harmonized, operational indicators that integrate ecological, technological, and socio-environmental dimensions. Strengthening these frameworks is essential to support global monitoring efforts and improve conservation strategies for sea turtles in increasingly modified coastal systems.
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Plastic Pollution and Its Ecological Impacts on Sea Turtles: A Comprehensive Review
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Researchers reviewed the full spectrum of plastic pollution threats to all seven sea turtle species, covering ingestion-driven gastrointestinal obstruction and nutritional dilution, entanglement injuries, and the effects of beach plastic accumulation on nest temperature, hatchling success, and sex ratios.
Deni̇z Kaplumbağasi Ve Atik Plasti̇ği̇n Etki̇si̇ İle Canli Türleri̇ni̇n Karşilaştiği Tehdi̇tler
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This study examines the threats posed by plastic waste to sea turtles and other living species in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, reviewing how uncontrolled plastic production and release leads to degradation into microplastics that contaminate entire food webs. The authors assess the documented harms to sea turtles from ingestion and entanglement and call for stronger controls on plastic production and disposal.
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