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from the teenage-mutant-ninja-plastic-eaters dept.
'A single piece of plastic' can kill sea turtles, says study
A new study suggests that ingesting even a single piece of plastic can be deadly for sea turtles. Researchers found there was a one in five chance of death for a turtle who consumed just one item - rising to 50% for 14 pieces. The team found that younger turtles are at a higher risk of dying from exposure to plastic than adults.
The authors say their research raises concerns over the long term survival of some turtle species. The never ending surge of plastic into the world's oceans is taking an increasing toll on iconic marine species. While it has been relatively straightforward for researchers to document the threat to animals who become entangled in plastic and drown, determining the impact of consumed plastic is much harder.
The authors of this study estimate that around half of all the sea turtles on the planet have ingested plastic - this rises to 90% among juvenile green sea turtles off the coast of Brazil.
A quantitative analysis linking sea turtle mortality and plastic debris ingestion (open, DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-30038-z) (DX)
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 14 2018, @12:08AM (12 children)
I can only hope it is understood that people will not believe you, either now or in the future, when you say stuff like this.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 14 2018, @12:13AM (3 children)
Possibility, probability... for some is potato/patato.
Unfortunately, they are becoming aggressive lately.
(Score: 3, Informative) by acid andy on Friday September 14 2018, @12:24AM (2 children)
If you believe the study is unscientific then point out the flaws in their methodology.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 14 2018, @05:21AM (1 child)
I believe the OP poster is aggressively stupid in her "I can only hope it is understood that people will not believe you, either now or in the future, when you say stuff like this.", purposefully introducing a confusion between possibility ("a single piece of plastic can be deadly for sea turtles") with the probability of the event happening.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Friday September 14 2018, @05:31PM
I agree with you, but there's also a point there: clickbait titles get clicks in the short-term, but erode the public discourse in the long term. I dream of a world in which we say exactly what we mean, with as few words as possible, and then stop.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 14 2018, @12:42AM (6 children)
"I can only hope it is understood that people will not believe you, either now or in the future, when you say stuff like this.
-
Are you calling me a liar, motherfucker ?
You should be aware there can be consequences that you won't enjoy for making such accusations.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 14 2018, @12:46AM (5 children)
I have no idea who you are, but what is a "piece"?
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Friday September 14 2018, @01:04AM (3 children)
I've no idea either. The point is that the sizes of the bits of plastic in the ocean will have a statistical distribution. The plastic found inside the turtles had to be small enough for them to swallow. From the study:
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 0, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 14 2018, @04:09AM (1 child)
Every other time plastic ingestion by sealife is posted on this site, it is about microplastics.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by acid andy on Friday September 14 2018, @06:36AM
Nope [soylentnews.org]. Not [soylentnews.org]. Even [soylentnews.org]. Close [soylentnews.org].
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Friday September 14 2018, @04:32PM
I think it's generally accepted that a single plastic drinking straw is universally fatal to sea turtles. The science is not yet complete on other shapes.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 4, Informative) by acid andy on Friday September 14 2018, @01:08AM
Not sure what happened to that quote:
The study [nature.com]
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 14 2018, @03:59AM
What they left out is that the single piece of plastic has to have a volume of at least 3L and a length of not less than 1.445m.