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Tier 2
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Original research — experimental, observational, or case-control study. Direct primary evidence.
Gut & Microbiome
Human Health Effects
Marine & Wildlife
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A quantitative analysis linking sea turtle mortality and plastic debris ingestion
Scientific Reports2018
223 citations
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Citation count from OpenAlex, updated daily. May differ slightly from the publisher's own count.
Score: 55
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0–100 AI score estimating relevance to the microplastics field. Papers below 30 are filtered from public browse.
Chris Wilcox
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Chris Wilcox
Qamar Schuyler,
Qamar Schuyler,
Chris Wilcox
Chris Wilcox
Chris Wilcox
Qamar Schuyler,
Qamar Schuyler,
Chris Wilcox
Qamar Schuyler,
Chris Wilcox
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Chris Wilcox
Melody Puckridge,
Chris Wilcox
Chris Wilcox
Kathy A. Townsend,
Qamar Schuyler,
Chris Wilcox
Chris Wilcox
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Chris Wilcox
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Qamar Schuyler,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Qamar Schuyler,
Kathy A. Townsend,
Kathy A. Townsend,
Kathy A. Townsend,
Kathy A. Townsend,
Chris Wilcox
Chris Wilcox
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Chris Wilcox
Kathy A. Townsend,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Qamar Schuyler,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Chris Wilcox
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Kathy A. Townsend,
Kathy A. Townsend,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Qamar Schuyler,
Qamar Schuyler,
Chris Wilcox
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Kathy A. Townsend,
Chris Wilcox
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Chris Wilcox
Chris Wilcox
Chris Wilcox
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Kathy A. Townsend,
Kathy A. Townsend,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Kathy A. Townsend,
Chris Wilcox
Kathy A. Townsend,
Kathy A. Townsend,
Britta Denise Hardesty,
Chris Wilcox
Summary
Researchers analyzed two datasets covering hundreds of sea turtles and found a quantitative link between the amount of plastic debris ingested and the probability of death. The study estimated that ingesting as few as 14 pieces of plastic significantly increases mortality risk, providing some of the first direct statistical evidence connecting plastic ingestion volume to lethal outcomes in marine turtles.
Plastic in the marine environment is a growing environmental issue. Sea turtles are at significant risk of ingesting plastic debris at all stages of their lifecycle with potentially lethal consequences. We tested the relationship between the amount of plastic a turtle has ingested and the likelihood of death, treating animals that died of known causes unrelated to plastic ingestion as a statistical control group. We utilized two datasets; one based on necropsies of 246 sea turtles and a second using 706 records extracted from a national strandings database. Animals dying of known causes unrelated to plastic ingestion had less plastic in their gut than those that died of either indeterminate causes or due to plastic ingestion directly (e.g. via gut impaction and perforation). We found a 50% probability of mortality once an animal had 14 pieces of plastic in its gut. Our results provide the critical link between recent estimates of plastic ingestion and the population effects of this environmental threat.