DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01036
copiedComprehensive health assessment of green turtles Chelonia mydas nesting in southeastern Florida, USA
- Annie Page-Karjian
- Ryan Chabot
- Nicole I. Stacy
- Ashley S. Morgan
- Roldán A. Valverde
- S. Stewart
- Christina M. Coppenrath
- Charles A. Manire
- Lawrence H. Herbst
- Christopher R. Gregory
- Branson W. Ritchie
- Justin R. Perrault
ABSTRACT: Important indicators of population health needed for large-scale sea turtle population recovery efforts include demographics, disease and mortality trends, condition indices, and baseline blood data. With this comprehensive health assessment of adult female green sea turtles Chelonia mydas nesting on Juno Beach, Florida, USA, we (1) established comprehensive baseline health indices; (2) identified individuals with evidence of infection by chelonid alphaherpesviruses 5 and 6 (ChHV5, ChHV6), which are implicated in fibropapillomatosis and respiratory and skin disease, respectively; and (3) compared measured health indices between turtles that did versus those that did not test positive for ChHV5 and/or ChHV6. All 60 turtles included in the study were in good body condition with no external fibropapillomatosis tumors. Hematological and biochemical reference intervals were established. Via quantitative PCR (qPCR), 5/60 turtles (8%) tested positive for ChHV5, and all turtles were negative for ChHV6. Of 41 turtles tested for antibodies to ChHV5 and ChHV6, 29% and 15% tested positive, respectively, and 10% 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. This suggests that these viruses are enzootically stable in Florida’s adult green turtles. This study provides a health profile of nesting green turtles in southeastern Florida applicable to temporal and spatial investigations of this and other populations.
KEYWORDS
Annie Page-Karjian (Corresponding Author)
- Florida Atlantic University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Fort Pierce, Florida 34946, USA
Ryan Chabot (Co-author)
- Inwater Research Group, Jensen Beach, Florida 34957, USA
Nicole I. Stacy (Co-author)
- Aquatic, Amphibian, and Reptile Pathology Program, Department of Comparative, Diagnostic, and Population Medicine, University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, Florida 32608, USA
Ashley S. Morgan (Co-author)
- Florida Atlantic University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Fort Pierce, Florida 34946, USA
Roldán A. Valverde (Co-author)
- Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana 70402, USA
- Sea Turtle Conservancy, Gainesville, Florida 32609, USA
S. Stewart (Co-author)
- Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana 70402, USA
Christina M. Coppenrath (Co-author)
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida 33408, USA
Charles A. Manire (Co-author)
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida 33408, USA
Lawrence H. Herbst (Co-author)
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA
Christopher R. Gregory (Co-author)
- Infectious Diseases Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
Branson W. Ritchie (Co-author)
- Infectious Diseases Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA
Justin R. Perrault (Co-author)
- Loggerhead Marinelife Center, Juno Beach, Florida 33408, USA
