Microplastic pollution at Qilianyu, the largest green sea turtle nesting grounds in the northern South China Sea.

ABSTRACT: Microplastics, new persistent pollutants, have recently attracted considerable attention. When present in beach sediments, microplastics may adversely affect the nesting and hatching of sea turtles on beaches. In this study, we investigate microplastic pollution at Qilianyu (northeastern Xisha Islands), the largest known nesting ground for green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in China. We found that the average abundance of microplastics in the beach surface sediments was 338.44 ± 315.69 thousand pieces·m^-3 or 1,353.78 ± 853.68 pieces·m^-2, with foam and fragments as the main microplastic type identified. The microplastic particles were categorised as small and were predominantly within the 0.05-1 mm size category. Most microplastic particles were white (71.31%).

SUBMITTER: Zhang T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9186329 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature