[dhaniellemar63]

The surprising discovery of a plastic straw lodged into the nose of an olive ridley turtle is a single example of the multitude of effects that plastic debris can have on marine life. While the impact of the straw was not immediately fatal, it evidently blocked the nasal passage of the turtle and detrimentally affected the turtle�s capacity to breathe. In turn, this could markedly lower this animal�s reductive fitness by reducing its ability to feed or even mate. Considering the plastic is found ingested by all sea turtles species (Schuyler et al. 2014) as well as many fish (Boerger et al. 2010) and seabirds (Tanaka et al. 2013), we propose that strategies for reducing plastic pollution in the oceans should play a central role in broad-scale conservation management strategies, not just for sea turtles, but all marine life. more

[SawEfDir]

C�ZAR, A., F. ECHEVARR�A, J.I. GONZ�LEZ-GORDILLO, X. IRIGOIEN, B. �BEDA, S. HERN�NDEZ-LE�N, �.T. PALMA, S. NAVARRO, J. GARC�A-DE-LOMAS, A. RUIZ, M.L. FERN�DEZ-DE-PUELLES & C.M. DUARTE. 2014. Plastic debris in the open ocean. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111: 10239-10244. here

[alalp456]

LAZAR, B. & R. GRAĈAN. 2011. Ingestion of marine debris by loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, in the Adriatic Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin 62: 43-47. [links]

[hotdrop]

We do not know conclusively how long the straw had remained in the sea turtle�s nostril or how it came to be there in the first place but we can provide some basic conjectures. Judging by the stained coloration of the straw and its general state of degradation (Figure 1c), we predict the straw must have been in the turtle for at least a few weeks if not longer. Furthermore, the effort required to remove the straw suggests that scar tissue had begun to form around the base of the straw. As for how the straw found its way into the sea turtles nostril, we think it is highly unlikely that the straw would have been driven into the sea turtles nose from the outside (e.g., if the turtle impaled its nostril on a straw that may have been sticking out of the seabed); the straw was too deeply embedded into the nostril. Instead, we believe that the straw was initially ingested orally but was later regurgitated; however, when this happened the straw did not pass out the mouth but passed through the nasal cavity. In support of this argument, the nasal cavity in sea turtles is linked directly to the buccal cavity through a long nasopharyngeal duct (Wyneken 2001). Furthermore, the curve of the straw after removal (Figure 1c) matches the anatomical form of the nasopharyngeal duct (Wyneken, 2001). more

[traindirector]

The team felt it was better to remove the straw immediately, since they were hours away from a veterinarian—and there was no guarantee the vet would know how to deal with a sea turtle. (Watch injured sea turtles get healthy in rehab.) more

[plupumbl0ck1978]

Usually, trash such as plastic bags and even toothbrushes end up in a sea turtle's stomach, she says. It's also quite common to see fishing hooks embedded in a turtle's mouth or flipper, Figgener adds. here

[translator]

The passageways for food and air are connected in a turtle just like they are in people. That's why some of the material we throw up can come out of our nose, Figgener says. It's possible the straw could have ended up in the wrong passageway and gotten lodged in the reptile's nostril. [links]

[russ]

Assured it wasn't a parasite that might have been attached to part of the turtle's brain, the researchers decided to remove the entire four-inch (ten-centimeter) straw. more

[wbgtrfv]

She says she is hopeful that in the near future, the negative impacts of plastic straws will be gone, comparing it to the plastic rings around six packs that have been largely phased out by companies and that people consciously cut up — in part due to similar emotional photos and footage of animals with them stuck around their mouths or heads. [links]

[friendartiste]

Figgener says she doesn’t want to claim “this video is the one that did it all,” but she did admit it is a good tool for environmental activists and lobbyists to use at presentations that elicits compassion.

[8668]

Figgener has a similarly optimistic outlook for the sea turtle featured in the video, who she saw again last year thanks to a tag they put on his flipper for research purposes. While her team was out conducting research in Costa Rica, they found a mating couple. When they got home, she checked the number in her database and confirmed it was the same turtle.

[chrisdbc]

Figgener says straws are just a start; they make up only 4% of the 9 million tons of annual plastic pollution that washes into the world’s oceans and shorelines, according to a 2015 study published in the academic journal Science. But, she says, they’re also a good place to start fighting ocean waste. The drinking utensils are often referred to by environmental activists and groups including the Plastic Pollution Coalition as “gateway plastics” that ease people into single-use items. Plastic straws are also particularly dangerous to animals, and humans, because they break down into small pieces that can be ingested. In fact, one study found that 90% of all seabirds have eaten plastic — a number that has skyrocketed from less than 5% in 1960.

[iamronaldlpierson]

“I’m of course happy,” Figgener tells TIME. “But I don’t want the corporations to feel like they’re getting off easily just by eliminating plastic straws. I hope this is the first step.”

[gridecon]

The 34-year-old marine conservation biologist, who is currently finishing her Ph.D at Texas A&M University, says she was “celebrating” last week after several companies followed Starbucks’ lead in announcing plastic straw bans.

[sherrylewis3usa]

Without their permit for temporal removal of the turtle from its ocean habitat, Figgener said her team could have gone to jail. But after working in Costa Rica for almost a decade, they knew there was no vet around the corner, especially one specialized in reptiles. So they acted, and they filmed it. here

[Jman]

After the incidence, Figgener said the team spent the two-hour boat ride back to harbor in silence. “We had no words. We just knew we had to get the video out to the public.” [links]

[tenbagger]

The turtle was a sexually mature Olive Ridley male—an endangered creature, found in waters in between Playa Nancite (Santa Rosa National Park) and Playa Cabuyal, off the Pacific shore of Costa Rica. Olive Ridleys are thought to reach sexual maturity at about 12 years, and may live up to 50 years, but they don’t know for sure. “So our guy should have been somewhere between 12 and 50 years old,” Figgener surmised. more

[singpolyma]

By now, more than 6 million people have seen the disturbing 8-minute viral video of the sea turtle with a stream of blood draining from his nostril, as two researchers work to extract a 4-inch plastic straw. A shortened version can be seen here.

[filo_gost]

The plastic was lodged in the turtle’s nasal cavity, reaching down into his throat, inhibiting his breathing and sense of smell—a turtle’s most important tool for finding food. It was no doubt messing with the turtle’s orientation and migration, and possibly even hindering his ability to find a mate.