Marine plastic pollution is projected to increase globally in the next few decades. This holds true for South America where the number of species that interacts with plastics is increasing. In this study, we explore for the first time the potential of certain charismatic species of marine turtles, mammals and seabirds as indicators of plastic pollution in the Río de la Plata (RdP), one of the largest and most important estuarine areas of the Southwest Atlantic. Through a revision of published studies integrated with unpublished data, we summarize studies on the interaction of charismatic marine species with plastics in the region and evaluate their role as indicators of plastic pollution in the RdP based on aspects of their local ecology and key attributes (i.e., biological/ecological, methodological, and conservation attributes) of indicator species. We found that at least 45 charismatic marine species interact –whether by ingestion or entanglement– with plastics in the region. Eight of these species were selected as potential indicators given their occurrence, probability of sampling and interaction with plastics in the RdP, namely: Chelonia mydas, Caretta caretta, Dermochelys coriacea, Pontoporia blainvillei, Arctocephalus australis, Otaria flavescens, Larus dominicanus, and Spheniscus magellanicus. The species shared some key attributes of indicator species, e.g., they are relatively well studied, but differed in critical aspects such as their home range and mobility. We discuss whether the species’ attributes are strengths or weaknesses according to the available knowledge on their ecology in the RdP, and propose a multispecies indicator of plastic pollution given that those strengths and weaknesses can be compensated among species. Monitoring plastic pollution through a combination of species would enable a better understanding of plastic pollution in this relevant area.

预计未来几十年，全球海洋塑料污染将增加。这适用于南美洲，那里与塑料相互作用的物种数量正在增加。在这项研究中，我们首次探索了某些具有魅力的海龟、哺乳动物和海鸟物种作为拉普拉塔河 (RdP) 塑料污染指标的潜力，拉普拉塔河是西南最大和最重要的河口地区之一。大西洋。通过对已发表研究的修订与未发表的数据相结合，我们总结了对该地区有魅力的海洋物种与塑料相互作用的研究，并根据其当地生态和关键属性（即，生物/生态，方法论，和保护属性）的指示物种。我们发现至少有 45 种有魅力的海洋物种与该地区的塑料相互作用——无论是通过摄入还是纠缠。考虑到它们在 RdP 中的出现、采样概率和与塑料的相互作用，其中八个物种被选为潜在指标，即：海龟, 卡雷塔卡雷塔, 皮甲藻, 白头翁, 澳大利亚北极熊, 苦参, 多米尼加雀， 和 麦哲伦蛇. 这些物种具有指示物种的一些关键属性，例如，它们得到了相对深入的研究，但在关键方面存在差异，例如它们的栖息地和移动性。我们根据 RdP 中现有的生态学知识讨论物种的属性是优势还是劣势，并提出了塑料污染的多物种指标，因为这些优势和劣势可以在物种之间得到补偿。通过物种组合监测塑料污染将有助于更好地了解这一相关领域的塑料污染。