A global assessment of microplastic abundance and characteristics on marine turtle nesting beaches
Marine Pollution Bulletin2025
8 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Zara L.R. Botterell,
Jed Ardren,
Elly Dove,
E. Durant McArthur,
David S. Addison,
Oyeronke M Adegbile,
Pierre Didier Agamboué,
Andrews Agyekumhene,
Phil Allman,
Alexandra Alterman,
Albert J. Anderson,
Theresa Arenholz,
Daniel Ariano‐Sánchez,
Z. M. Arnold,
José Carlos Báez,
Ahmad Bahar,
Castro Barbosa,
Héctor Barrios–Garrido,
Eyüp Başkale,
Michael L. Berumen,
Vanessa S. Bézy,
Janice Blumenthal,
Manuela R Borja Bosquirolli,
Allan Boyce,
Elizabeth Brammer-Robbins,
Maria Branco,
Annabelle Brooks,
Nancy Bunbury,
Luís Cardona,
Helen Chadwick,
Giannis Chalkias,
Kimberly Chug,
Jessica M. Clark,
Matthew Cole,
Rachel Coppock,
Eduardo Cuevas,
Tiffany M. Dawson,
Maria Denaro,
Rodrigo Donadi,
Corrine Douglas,
Ryan Douglas,
Emily Drobes,
Cécile Dubois,
Emily M. Duncan,
Chantel Elston,
Nicole Esteban,
Gabriela Fernandes,
Maria Betânia Ferreira-Airaud,
Sarah Finn,
J. E. Christie,
Ángela Formia,
Sabrina Fossette,
Mariana M. P. B. Fuentes,
Tamara S. Galloway,
Matthew H. Godfrey,
Joanna Goodfellow,
Vicente Guzmán‐Hernández,
Catherine E. Hart,
Graeme C. Hays,
Sarah E. Hirsch,
Sandra Hochscheid,
Karen G. Holloway‐Adkins,
Julia A. Horrocks,
Emi Inoguchi,
Gélica E Inteca,
Claire Jean,
Yakup Kaska,
Brice Didier Koumba Mabert,
Amandine Lambot,
Yaniv Levy,
Ceri Lewis,
César P. Ley‐Quiñónez,
Penelope K. Lindeque,
Israel Llamas,
Sergio López‐Martínez,
Javier López-Navas,
Karin A. Mack,
Fernando Miguel Madeira,
Fulvio Maffucci,
Roksana Majewska,
Agnese Mancini,
Katherine L. Mansfield,
Adolfo Marco,
Dimitris Margaritoulis,
Isabel Marques da Silva,
Samir Martins,
Andrew S. Maurer,
Wendy J. McFarlane,
Carmen Mejías-Balsalobre,
Maxine A. Montello,
Jeanne A. Mortimer,
Sarah E. Nelms,
Josep Nogués Vera,
Christelle Not,
Olga Novillo-Sanjuan,
Karen Oceguera Camacho,
Omri Omessi,
Breanna L. Ondich,
Mark E. Outerbridge,
Nicolas Paranthoen
Summary
Researchers coordinated a global sampling effort across 209 marine turtle nesting beaches in six ocean basins to assess microplastic contamination in beach sediments. They found microplastics present on 45% of beaches, with the Mediterranean showing the highest contamination rate at 80%. The study provides an open-access dataset to support ongoing monitoring of plastic pollution in critical nesting habitats.
Study Type
Environmental
Sandy coastal beaches are an important nesting habitat for marine turtles and a known sink for plastic pollution. Existing methodologies for monitoring the spatiotemporal patterns of abundance and composition of plastic are, however, disparate. We engaged a global network of marine turtle scientists to implement a large-scale sampling effort to assess microplastic abundance in beach sediments on marine turtle nesting beaches. Sand samples were collected from 209 sites spanning six oceans, microplastics (1-5 mm) were extracted through stacked sieves, visually identified, and a sub-sample verified via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Microplastics were detected in 45 % (n = 94) of beaches and within five ocean basins. Microplastic presence and abundance was found to vary markedly within and among ocean basins, with the highest proportion of contaminated beaches found in the Mediterranean (80 %). We present all data in an accessible, open access format to facilitate the extension of monitoring efforts and empower novel analytical approaches.