Pesticides and endangered sea turtles: A review

Abstract

Sea turtles are considered of increasing interest as potential bioindicators for pollution in marine ecosystems. In addition, all species of sea turtles are included on the Red List of the World Conservation Union, and all the threats for their survival must be investigated, including the health implications of pesticides. This chapter is a review of the international research made on pesticides and sea turtles. The majority of the studies reported baseline levels of organochlorine (OC) pesticides in several species of sea turtles from different geographical areas. Several sea turtle samples were used to determine the concentration of OC pesticides: eggs and chorioallantoic membranes, tissues, and blood. Contamination of sea turtle eggs by pesticides, effects on embryonic development, maternal transfer, and even implications for public health (consumption of sea turtle eggs) were investigated. Several specific studies investigated the effects of pesticides on sexual differentiation, sexual steroid-binding proteins, and immunity. Other relevant studies tried to establish an association between OC pesticides and clinical health parameters and/or diseases