World Environment Day - Sea turtles full of plastics

The loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) as an environmental indicator to monitor the quantity and dynamics of plastics distribution in the Mediterranean. Plastic represent more than 80% of the waste found in the sea and on the beaches. What are the marine impacts of these quantities and how do they threaten the balance of species in their ecosystems? The European INDICIT project provides an answer to these questions starting from the study of sea turtles in the Mediterranean. The wide geographical distribution of the species, their presence in different habitats and the characteristic of ingesting marine litter make Caretta caretta a good indicator to assess the impact of plastics on marine fauna.