Chronic debilitation in stranded loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the southeastern United States: Morphometrics and clinicopathological findings

Chronically debilitated loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) (DT) are characterized by emaciation, lethargy, and heavy barnacle coverage. Although histopathological findings associated with this condition have been reported, only limited data is available on health variables with clinical application. The objectives of this study were to 1) to compare morphometrics, clinicopathological variables, and immune functions of DTs to a group of apparently healthy loggerhead turtles to better understand the pathophysiology of the condition and 2) to assess health parameters in live debilitated turtles as they recovered during rehabilitation in order to identify potential prognostic indicators. We examined and sampled 43 DTs stranded from North Carolina to Florida for 47 health variables using standardized protocols to further characterize the condition. DTs were grouped into categories of severity of the condition, and those that survived were sampled at four time points through rehabilitation. All groups and time points were compared among DTs and to clinically healthy loggerhead turtles. Compared to healthy turtles, DTs had significantly lower body condition index, packed cell volume (PCV), total white blood cell (WBC) count, lymphocytes, glucose (Glc), total protein, all protein fractions as determined by electrophoresis, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), Ca:P ratio, potassium (K), lymphocyte proliferation, and greater heterophil toxicity and left-shifting, uric acid (UA), aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase, lysozyme, and respiratory burst. From admission to recovery, hematology and plasma chemistry data improved as expected. The most informative prognostic indicators, as determined by correlations with a novel severity indicator (based on survival times), were plastron concavity, P, albumin, total solids, UA, lymphocyte proliferation, WBC, K, Glc, Ca:P, and PCV. The results of this study document the wide range and extent of morphometric and metabolic derangements in chronically debilitated turtles. Monitoring morphometrics and clinicopathological variables of these animals is essential for diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis during rehabilitation.

Female-Bias in a Long-Term Study of a Species with Temperature-Dependent Sex Determination: Monitoring Sex Ratios for Climate Change Research

Alterations have occurred and continue to manifest in the Earth's biota as a result of climate change. Animals exhibiting temperature dependent sex determination (TSD), including sea turtles, are perhaps most vulnerable to a warming of the Earth as highly skewed sex ratios can result, potentially leading to population extinction resulting from decreased male recruitment. Recent studies have begun to quantify climate change impacts to sea turtle populations, especially in terms of predicting effects on hatchling sex ratios. However, given the inherent difficulty in studying sex ratios at this life stage, a more accurate assessment of changes in population sex ratios might be derived by evaluating the juvenile portion of foraging aggregations. We investigated the long-term trend in sex ratio of a juvenile loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtle population inhabiting Pamlico and Core Sounds, North Carolina, USA. We used plasma testosterone reference ranges measured using radioimmunoassay (RIA) to assign sex for 959 turtles and confirmed sex assignment of a subset (N = 58) of the sampled turtles through laparoscopic examination of their gonads. Our results demonstrate that for this particular population of loggerheads, sex ratios (3Females:1Male) had not significantly changed over a 10 year period (1998-2007), nor showed any significant difference among 5-cm straight carapace length (SCL) size classes. Ultimately, these findings provide a basis for comparison with future sex ratios, and highlight the importance of establishing similar long-term studies monitoring secondary, rather than primary, sex ratios, so that needed mitigation measures to climate change impacts can be implemented.

Perfluoroalkyl contaminants in plasma of five sea turtle species: comparisons in concentration and potential health risks

The authors compared blood plasma concentrations of 13 perfluoroalkyl contaminants (PFCs) in five sea turtle species with differing trophic levels. Wild sea turtles were blood sampled from the southeastern region of the United States, and plasma was analyzed using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. Mean concentrations of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), the predominant PFC, increased with trophic level from herbivorous greens (2.41 ng/g), jellyfish-eating leatherbacks (3.95 ng/g), omnivorous loggerheads (6.47 ng/g), to crab-eating Kemp's ridleys (15.7 ng/g). However, spongivorous hawksbills had surprisingly high concentrations of PFOS (11.9 ng/g) and other PFCs based on their trophic level. These baseline concentrations of biomagnifying PFCs demonstrate interesting species and geographical differences. The measured PFOS concentrations were compared with concentrations known to cause toxic effects in laboratory animals, and estimated margins of safety (EMOS) were calculated. Small EMOS (<100), suggestive of potential risk of adverse health effects, were observed for all five sea turtle species for immunosuppression. Estimated margins of safety less than 100 were also observed for liver, thyroid, and neurobehavorial effects for the more highly exposed species. These baseline concentrations and the preliminary EMOS exercise provide a better understanding of the potential health risks of PFCs for conservation managers to protect these threatened and endangered species.