The Effects of Microplastics on the Thermal Profile of Sand: Implications for Marine Turtle Nesting Grounds

Microplastics (plastic debris smaller than 5mm) can impact marine habitat used by endangered species, like marine turtles, since they can transport toxicants and alter the nesting environment by changing the sediment properties affecting the temperature and sand permeability. Given that there is record of microplastics at marine turtle nest sites and of their potential impacts on the species, this study was conducted to determine the influence of microplastics on the thermal profile of sediment for the marine turtle nesting habitat. The experiment was conducted at the Florida State University Coastal and Marine Lab, where the temperatures of containers with sand and microplastics were recorded from July to September. The addition of microplastics in the sand resulted in an increase in temperature, with the container with 30% black particles having the highest mean temperature increase of 0.58°C (± 0.34). The results obtained from this study indicate that the change in temperature may become problematic for marine turtles, causing the sex ratio of hatchlings to be shifted more towards females, or to exceed the successful thermal range for egg incubation and become fatal.