Environmental News Network - Green Turtles Eat Plastic That Looks like Their Food

Details: By University of Exeter; 09.Aug

Green turtles are more likely to swallow plastic that resembles their natural diet of sea grass, new research suggests.

Green turtles are more likely to swallow plastic that resembles their natural diet of sea grass, new research suggests.

The turtles strongly favour narrow lengths of plastic in natural colours like green and black, rather than debris of other shapes and colours, the study found.

Scientists from the University of Exeter and the Society for the Protection of Turtles (Cyprus) examined the guts of turtles found washed up on beaches in Cyprus.

Plastic was found in all turtles whose full gastrointestinal tract could be examined, with one found to contain 183 pieces.

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Green Turtles Eat Plastic That Looks like Their Food