ESR

Endangered Species Research

ESR is a gold Open Access research journal on all endangered forms of life on Earth, the threats faced by species and their habitats, and the necessary steps that must be undertaken to ensure their conservation.

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Online: ISSN 1613-4796

Print: ISSN 1863-5407

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/esr

Impact Factor2.9 (JCR 2025 release)

Article Acceptance Rate68.4% (2024)

Average Time in Review178 days (2024)

Total Annual Downloads446.924 (2025)

Volume contents
Endang Species Res 42:21-35 (2020)

Comprehensive health assessment of green turtles Chelonia mydas nesting in southeastern Florida, USA

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
cpagekarjian@fau.edu

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