A research team led by the University of Exeter has found plastic inside small juvenile turtles along both the east (Pacific Ocean) and west (Indian Ocean) coasts of Australia.
After hatching on beaches, the animals then travel on currents and spend their early years in the open ocean. However, these currents accumulate vast quantities of plastic and because the young turtles primarily feed near the surface, many inadvertently swallow plastic as a result.
The research team also involved scientists from Murdoch University, the Department of Environment and Science (Queensland) and the Department of Biodiversity Conservation and Attractions (Western Australia).
Dr Emily Duncan, of the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on Exeter’s Penryn Campus in Cornwall, said: “Juvenile turtles have evolved to develop in the open ocean, where predators are relatively scarce. However, our results suggest that this evolved behaviour now leads them into a trap, bringing...