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Environmental Sources
Marine & Wildlife
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The true depth of the Mediterranean plastic problem: Extreme microplastic pollution on marine turtle nesting beaches in Cyprus
Marine Pollution Bulletin2018
99 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 40
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Emily M. Duncan
Emily M. Duncan
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Emily M. Duncan
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Emily M. Duncan
Emily M. Duncan
Erik van Sebille,
Emily M. Duncan
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Emily M. Duncan
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Emily M. Duncan
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Jessica A. Arrowsmith,
Jessica A. Arrowsmith,
Jessica A. Arrowsmith,
Jessica A. Arrowsmith,
Annette C. Broderick,
Annette C. Broderick,
Brendan J. Godley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Charlotte Bain,
Charlotte Bain,
Annette C. Broderick,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Annette C. Broderick,
Brendan J. Godley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Brendan J. Godley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Annette C. Broderick,
Jonathon Lee,
Jonathon Lee,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Brendan J. Godley,
Kristian Metcalfe,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Stephen K. Pikesley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Emily M. Duncan
Annette C. Broderick,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Emily M. Duncan
Emily M. Duncan
Stephen K. Pikesley,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Robin Snape,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Brendan J. Godley,
Robin Snape,
Robin Snape,
Brendan J. Godley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Erik van Sebille,
Brendan J. Godley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Brendan J. Godley,
Erik van Sebille,
Brendan J. Godley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Brendan J. Godley,
Emily M. Duncan
Summary
Researchers found extreme microplastic pollution at 17 sea turtle nesting sites in Cyprus, with all locations contaminated at all depths and mean particle counts reaching 45,497 per m2 in the top 2 cm of sand, revealing severe plastic contamination at critical habitat for loggerhead and green turtles.
We sampled 17 nesting sites for loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Cyprus. Microplastics (<5 mm) were found at all locations and depths, with particularly high abundance in superficial sand. The top 2 cm of sand presented grand mean ± SD particle counts of 45,497 ± 11,456 particles m (range 637-131,939 particles m). The most polluted beaches were among the worst thus far recorded, presenting levels approaching those previously recorded in Guangdong, South China. Microplastics decreased with increasing sand depth but were present down to turtle nest depths of 60 cm (mean 5,325 ± 3,663 particles m. Composition varied among beaches but hard fragments (46.5 ± 3.5%) and pre-production nurdles (47.8 ± 4.5%) comprised most categorised pieces. Particle drifter analysis hindcast for 365 days indicated that most plastic likely originated from the eastern Mediterranean basin. Worsening microplastic abundance could result in anthropogenically altered life history parameters such as hatching success and sex ratios in marine turtles.