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A global assessment of microplastic abundance and characteristics on marine turtle nesting beaches
Zara L.R. Botterell,
Jed Ardren,
Elly Dove,
Ellen McArthur,
David S. Addison,
Oyeronke M. Adegbile,
Pierre Didier Agamboue,
Andrews Agyekumhene,
Phil Allman,
Alexandra Alterman,
Adren Anderson,
Theresa Arenholz,
Daniel Ariano-Sánchez,
Zephania Arnold,
José C. Báez,
Anat Bahar,
Castro Barbosa,
Hector Barrios-Garrido,
Eyup Başkale,
Michael L. Berumen,
Vanessa S. Bézy,
Janice Blumenthal,
Manuela R. Borja Bosquirolli,
Alysia J. Boyce,
Elizabeth Brammer-Robbins,
Maria Branco,
Annabelle M.L. Brooks,
Nancy Bunbury,
Luis Cardona,
Helen Chadwick,
Giannis Chalkias,
Kimberly Chug,
Jessica Clark,
Matthew Cole,
Rachel L. Coppock,
Eduardo Cuevas,
Tiffany M. Dawson,
Maria Denaro,
Rodrigo Donadi,
Corrine Douglas,
Ryan Douglas,
Emily Drobes,
Chloé Dubois,
Emily M. Duncan,
Chloe A. Elston,
Nicole Esteban 
,
Gabriela Fernandes,
Maria B. Ferreira-Airaud,
Sarah A. Finn,
Jerome Fisayo Christie,
Angela Formia,
Sabrina Fossette-Halot,
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-Quiñonez,
Penelope K. Lindeque,
Israel Llamas,
Sergio Lopez-Martinez,
Javier López-Navas,
Kelsey Mack,
Fernando M. 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 Ondich,
Mark Outerbridge,
Nicolas Paranthoen,
Jessica Pate,
S. Michelle Pate,
Ana R. Patrício,
Odysseas Paxinos,
Tami Pearl,
Justin R. Perrault,
Angela S. Picknell,
Susanna Piovano,
Ernesto I. Pococa Arellano,
Alwyn Ponteen,
Shritika S. Prakash,
Jairo Quiros Rosales,
Vicky Rae,
Azzakirat B.A. Raman,
Tyffen Read,
Katie E. Reeve-Arnold,
Richard D. Reina,
Stefanie Reinhardt,
Flavia Riberiro,
Andrew J. Richardson,
Marga L. Rivas,
Dani Rob,
Joseph Roche Chaloner,
Christopher E. Rogers,
Daniela Rojas-Cañizales,
Frank Rosell,
Enerit Sacdanaku,
Yessica M. Salgado Gallegos,
Cheryl Sanchez,
Pilar Santidrián Tomillo,
David Santillo,
Denise Santos de Mora,
Maïa Sarrouf Willson,
Shir Sassoon,
Emma A. Schultz,
Felicity Shapland,
Donna J. Shaver,
Mandy W.K. So,
Kelly Soluri,
Guy-Philippe Sounguet,
Doğan Sözbilen,
Seth P. Stapleton,
David A. Steen,
Martin Stelfox,
Kimberly M. Stewart,
Lyndsey K. Tanabe,
Luis A. Tello-Sahagun,
Jesús Tomás,
Davinia Torreblanca,
Anton D. Tucker,
Craig Turley,
Ivon Vassileva,
Sara Vieira,
Martha R. Villalba-Guerra,
Gerardo Villaseñor Castañeda,
Ricardo Villaseñor Llamas,
Matthew Ware,
Sam B. Weber,
Lindsey West,
Clemency Whittles,
Paul A. Whittock,
Joseph Widlansky,
Brendan J. Godley
,
Gabriela Fernandes,
Maria B. Ferreira-Airaud,
Sarah A. Finn,
Jerome Fisayo Christie,
Angela Formia,
Sabrina Fossette-Halot,
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-Quiñonez,
Penelope K. Lindeque,
Israel Llamas,
Sergio Lopez-Martinez,
Javier López-Navas,
Kelsey Mack,
Fernando M. 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 Ondich,
Mark Outerbridge,
Nicolas Paranthoen,
Jessica Pate,
S. Michelle Pate,
Ana R. Patrício,
Odysseas Paxinos,
Tami Pearl,
Justin R. Perrault,
Angela S. Picknell,
Susanna Piovano,
Ernesto I. Pococa Arellano,
Alwyn Ponteen,
Shritika S. Prakash,
Jairo Quiros Rosales,
Vicky Rae,
Azzakirat B.A. Raman,
Tyffen Read,
Katie E. Reeve-Arnold,
Richard D. Reina,
Stefanie Reinhardt,
Flavia Riberiro,
Andrew J. Richardson,
Marga L. Rivas,
Dani Rob,
Joseph Roche Chaloner,
Christopher E. Rogers,
Daniela Rojas-Cañizales,
Frank Rosell,
Enerit Sacdanaku,
Yessica M. Salgado Gallegos,
Cheryl Sanchez,
Pilar Santidrián Tomillo,
David Santillo,
Denise Santos de Mora,
Maïa Sarrouf Willson,
Shir Sassoon,
Emma A. Schultz,
Felicity Shapland,
Donna J. Shaver,
Mandy W.K. So,
Kelly Soluri,
Guy-Philippe Sounguet,
Doğan Sözbilen,
Seth P. Stapleton,
David A. Steen,
Martin Stelfox,
Kimberly M. Stewart,
Lyndsey K. Tanabe,
Luis A. Tello-Sahagun,
Jesús Tomás,
Davinia Torreblanca,
Anton D. Tucker,
Craig Turley,
Ivon Vassileva,
Sara Vieira,
Martha R. Villalba-Guerra,
Gerardo Villaseñor Castañeda,
Ricardo Villaseñor Llamas,
Matthew Ware,
Sam B. Weber,
Lindsey West,
Clemency Whittles,
Paul A. Whittock,
Joseph Widlansky,
Brendan J. Godley
Marine Pollution Bulletin, Volume: 215, Start page: 117768
Swansea University Author:
Nicole Esteban
-
PDF | Version of Record
© 2025 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.
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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2025.117768
Abstract
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...
| Published in: | Marine Pollution Bulletin |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0025-326X |
| Published: |
Elsevier BV
2025
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| Online Access: |
Check full text
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69344 |
| Abstract: |
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. |
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| Keywords: |
Plastic pollution; Microplastics; Marine litter; Beach sediment; Spatial distribution; Sea turtle |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
The authors thank the UK Global Challenges Resource Fund (GCRF) (Grant number: NE/V005448/1) and the Natural Environment Research Council (Grant number: NE/V009354/1) which has enabled this international collaboration. We also thank and are grateful to everyone who assisted in the collection and shipment of the samples. We thank Dr. Jennifer Lynch from the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) for collecting and processing of the Hawaiian beach samples. José C. Báez was financially supported by the project ‘Plan Complementario de I + D + i en el área de Biodiversidad (PCBIO),’ funded by the European Union within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – NextGenerationEU, by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and by the Regional Government of Andalusia. |
| Start Page: |
117768 |