Based on the above, we can hypothesize that juvenile green turtles
become highly exposed to the menace of plastics from late
spring to early fall in the Río de la Plata, because they concentrate
to forage on jellyfish that are aggregated along the bottom salinity
front. Along with jellyfish, the frontal dynamics aggregate plastic
debris originated by upriver populated cities. The physics of fronts
(e.g. the bottom front) provides a unique opportunity for marine
turtles since it concentrates their food. At the same time, it represents
an important conservation challenge because the frontal
accumulation exacerbates threats to marine turtles. Future studies
should be focused on mapping and modeling turtle foraging areas
in relation to the distribution of prey and plastic, as well as exploring
means of reducing plastic debris flow into marine and estuarine
areas, and reducing the amount that already exists.