World's most complete health analysis of nesting sea turtles conducted
in Florida
Study provides critical data for sea turtle conservation and population recovery

Date:
June 16, 2020
Source:
Florida Atlantic University
Summary:
The most comprehensive health assessment for a green turtle rookery
in the world to date is providing critical insights into various
aspects of physiology, biology, and herpesvirus epidemiology of
this nesting population. Findings are hopeful for this population
of green sea turtles in southeastern Florida, offer important data
on the profile of health for future comparative investigations,
and suggest that viruses are endemically stable in this nesting
population.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== While it's only about a 10-kilometer stretch, Juno Beach is home to
one of the largest aggregations of nesting green sea turtles (Chelonia
mydas) in Florida and is one of the highest-density nesting beaches in
the state. Although this high-profile turtle population has routinely
been monitored for nest counts since 1989, an in-depth health assessment
of these turtles has never been conducted.


========================================================================== Researchers from Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and Loggerhead Marinelife Center have conducted the most comprehensive health assessment for a green turtle rookery in the
world to date. Findings from the study provide critical insights into
various aspects of physiology, biology, and herpesvirus epidemiology of
this nesting population and are especially timely as the world observes
"Sea Turtle Day." Results, recently published in the journal Endangered Species Research, are hopeful for this population of green sea turtles
in southeastern Florida and offer important data on the profile of health
for future comparative investigations.

"Effective conservation measures cannot take place unless the animals
we are trying to protect are healthy," said Annie Page-Karjian, D.V.M.,
Ph.D., lead author, assistant research professor and clinical veterinarian
at FAU's Harbor Branch. "Chronological and longitudinal studies of
biology, physiology, and overall health in both free-ranging and captive populations are critical for supporting large-scale efforts to promote
sea turtle population recovery." A total of 4,343 green turtle nests
were documented on Juno Beach in 2017, which was the busiest nesting
year on record for this beach. For the study, researchers collected
blood samples from 60 female green turtles that nested on Juno Beach
in 2017. They evaluated a broad suite of biological and health data,
including measures of reproductive success, morphometrics, hematology,
plasma chemistry, plasma protein fractions, haptoglobin, corticosterone,
and measures of oxidative stress, antioxidative capacity, and innate
immunity. They also tested for two herpesviruses of green turtles,
ChHV5 and ChHV6, which are implicated in fibro-papillomatosis (FP) and respiratory and skin disease, respectively. FP is a debilitating disease
of sea turtles characterized by neoplastic growths on the skin, shell,
and/or internal organs.

Results showed that all 60 turtles included in the study were in good body condition with no external FP tumors. Five of the 60 turtles (8 percent)
tested positive for ChHV5 and all turtles were negative for ChHV6. Of the
41 turtles tested for antibodies to ChHV5 and ChHV6, 29 percent and 15
percent tested positive, respectively, and 10 percent tested positive
for antibodies to both viruses. Notably, there were no statistically significant differences between health variables for nesting turtles that tested positive for ChHV5 DNA versus those that tested negative; and also
no differences between turtles that tested positive for ChHV5 or ChHV6 antibodies and those that did not. Findings from the study suggest that
these viruses are endemically stable in Florida's adult green sea turtles.

Researchers differentiated between previous viral infection versus recent infection/reactivation, and evaluated the results alongside health
analytes to understand whether either infection state was associated
with detectable physiological changes.

"The fitness of the turtles examined for this study is likely
representative of the health of the ecosystems in which they forage and
the oceanic corridors through which they migrate," said Page-Karjian. "As
human activities continue to affect sea turtle population recovery,
these comprehensive baseline data from our study will provide a valuable resource for evaluating the impacts of various stressors such as habitat degradation on the population over time and will help inform wildlife
and environmental policy management." Green turtles are the second
most common sea turtle species to nest on the coast of Florida, after loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta). Sea turtles are considered to be
sentinel species of environmental health, whereby sea turtle health is
thought to reflect the health of the ecosystems they inhabit. Thus,
examining sea turtle health is an important component of any coastal
ecosystem health survey that includes sea turtle developmental, foraging, and/or nesting habitat(s).

Conservation threats to sea turtles in Florida are numerous, and include habitat encroachment and pollution, illegal harvesting, artificial
beach lighting and coastal armoring, and human interactions such as entanglement, hook ingestion, and boat strike trauma. Diseases, including
FP, also directly threaten sea turtle conservation.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Florida_Atlantic_University. Original written by Gisele Galoustian. Note: Content may be edited for style
and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. A Page-Karjian, R Chabot, NI Stacy, AS Morgan, RA Valverde,
S Stewart, CM
Coppenrath, CA Manire, LH Herbst, CR Gregory, BW Ritchie,
JR Perrault.

Comprehensive health assessment of green turtles Chelonia mydas
nesting in southeastern Florida, USA. Endangered Species Research,
2020; 42: 21 DOI: 10.3354/esr01036 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200616100809.htm

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