Why the turtles eat plastic debris?
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Due to the fact that people irresponsibly throw garbage from the Windows of cars, ships and even their homes, our planet is gradually turning into a landfill waste. In 2019, British scientists announced that the deep ocean has turned into and are a danger to many species of animals. Particularly strong are taking plastic trash for food, actively eat it and eventually die. But why the turtle does not take away the smell of plastic? Finding the answer to this question has engaged scientists from the University of Florida and Stanford University.
According to the study, which was published in the scientific journal , floating debris quickly acquires the smell and taste of algae. The fact that the bottles and other products made of plastic quick sticking of particles of algae, and they formed patches of aquatic bacteria. In the end, it turns out that plastic trash has found its "natural" scents and turtles mistakenly eat them, taking them for food.
Animals eat plastic
To verify your assumption, the researchers conducted an experiment in 15 of the hand-reared loggerhead turtles. They were released in a large tank with real food and plastic debris with adhered bacteria and algae. During the observations, the scientists noticed the turtles reacted to plastic waste as well as the usual meal. Previously, scientists thought that the waste can attract animals and their appearance. But the head of the new study, Joseph Pfaller announced that the reason lies not only in visual appeal but in taste and smell.
Perhaps that is why plastic debris eaten by other animals. Bottles, fishing nets and other waste are often found in fish, marine mammals and even birds. For example, in 2019, on the shores of the Scottish island of Harris was discovered dead sperm whale, inside of which was found about . In addition to fishing nets, it has been found plastic cups and rubber gloves. Most likely, they fell into the water from ships, the crews of which irresponsibly throwing out the garbage directly overboard.
nose turtle
It is believed that at the moment, plastic consume 52% of all currently existing turtles. Once the turtle eats one piece of plastic debris, the probability of death increases sharply by as much as 22%. If the animal swallows more than 14 bits, the risk of death increases to 50%. Most likely, in the future, the number of deaths of turtles from plastic debris will only increase, because they may eventually begin to consume even more waste. This trend has already been observed in birds, therefore, some scientists predict that by 2050 in the body of almost every sea birds contain plastic debris.
Not only that, plastic penetrates into the organism of animals, so it contains even in human organisms. So, in 2019, the German scientists found that the organisms in 97% of local children have tiny micro-plastic particles, the sources of which are the non-stick coating pans and disposable tableware. Read more about this study and its results can be found in our .
Turtle began to use plastic in food
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