Piscichuvirus-Associated Severe Meningoencephalomyelitis in Aquatic Turtles, United States, 2009-2021.

Viruses from a new species of piscichuvirus were strongly associated with severe lymphocytic meningoencephalomyelitis in several free-ranging aquatic turtles from 3 coastal US states during 2009-2021. Sequencing identified 2 variants (freshwater turtle neural virus 1 [FTuNV1] and sea turtle neural virus 1 [STuNV1]) of the new piscichuvirus species in 3 turtles of 3 species. In situ hybridization localized viral mRNA to the inflamed region of the central nervous system in all 3 sequenced isolates and in 2 of 3 additional nonsequenced isolates.

Identification of a novel Neorickettsia species in a Kemp's ridley sea turtle with granulomatous nephritis and development of a quantitative PCR assay.

An adult male Kemp's ridley turtle was found dead on the coast of Kenedy County, Texas, in August 2019 with bilateral severe, diffuse granulomatous nephritis. Pan-bacterial 16S rRNA gene polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and amplicon sequencing of affected tissue indicated the presence of a Neorickettsia. Neorickettsia is a genus of obligate intracellular Alphaproteobacteria that are transmitted by digenean trematodes.

Fibropapillomatosis and Chelonid Alphaherpesvirus 5 Infection in Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles ().

Fibropapillomatosis (FP), a debilitating, infectious neoplastic disease, is rarely reported in endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles (). With this study, we describe FP and the associated chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) in Kemp's ridley turtles encountered in the United States during 2006-2020. Analysis of 22 case reports of Kemp's ridley turtles with FP revealed that while the disease was mild in most cases, 54.

Plastic ingestion by green turtles (Chelonia mydas) over 33 years along the coast of Texas, USA.

Despite exponential growth of anthropogenic marine debris in recent decades, plastic ingestion by marine turtles in the Gulf of Mexico is not well understood. Gastrointestinal tracts were examined from 464 green turtles that stranded in Texas between 1987 and 2019, and 226 turtles ingested plastic (48.7%).

Evolutionary Comparisons of Chelonid Alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5) Genomes from Fibropapillomatosis-Afflicted Green (), Olive Ridley () and Kemp's Ridley () Sea Turtles.

The spreading global sea turtle fibropapillomatosis (FP) epizootic is threatening some of Earth's ancient reptiles, adding to the plethora of threats faced by these keystone species. Understanding this neoplastic disease and its likely aetiological pathogen, chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5 (ChHV5), is crucial to understand how the disease impacts sea turtle populations and species and the future trajectory of disease incidence. We generated 20 ChHV5 genomes, from three sea turtle species, to better understand the viral variant diversity and gene evolution of this oncogenic virus.

Scavenging versus predation: shark-bite injuries in stranded sea turtles in the southeastern USA.

Injuries inflicted by sharks are a frequent observation in stranded sea turtles. Sharks prey on live turtles and scavenge carcasses, which can create uncertainty as to the cause of stranding when sea turtles are found dead with shark-bite wounds. Consequently, attributing the cause of stranding to a shark attack based purely on the presence of the characteristic wounds can overestimate predation by sharks as a cause of mortality.

Fibropapillomatosis prevalence and distribution in green turtles Chelonia mydas in Texas (USA).

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a neoplastic disease that can result in debilitating tumors in sea turtles. Initially identified in Florida, USA in 1937, it has since been detected in green turtle Chelonia mydas populations globally. FP was first identified and confirmed in Texas, USA in 2010.

Sympatry or syntopy? Investigating drivers of distribution and co-occurrence for two imperiled sea turtle species in Gulf of Mexico neritic waters.

Animals co-occurring in a region (sympatry) may use the same habitat (syntopy) within that region. A central aim in ecology is determining what factors drive species distributions (i.e.

Brevetoxin exposure in sea turtles in south Texas (USA) during Karenia brevis red tide.

Five green (Chelonia mydas) and 11 Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles found dead, or that died soon after stranding, on the southern Texas (USA) coast during 2 Karenia brevis blooms (October 2015, September-October 2016) were tested for exposure to brevetoxins (PbTx). Tissues (liver, kidney) and digesta (stomach and intestinal contents) were analyzed by ELISA. Three green turtles found alive during the 2015 event and 2 Kemp's ridley turtles found alive during the 2016 event exhibited signs of PbTx exposure, including lethargy and/or convulsions of the head and neck.

Ecological regime shift drives declining growth rates of sea turtles throughout the West Atlantic.

Somatic growth is an integrated, individual-based response to environmental conditions, especially in ectotherms. Growth dynamics of large, mobile animals are particularly useful as bio-indicators of environmental change at regional scales. We assembled growth rate data from throughout the West Atlantic for green turtles, Chelonia mydas, which are long-lived, highly migratory, primarily herbivorous mega-consumers that may migrate over hundreds to thousands of kilometers.

Variability in age and size at maturation, reproductive longevity, and long-term growth dynamics for Kemp's ridley sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.

Effective management of protected sea turtle populations requires knowledge not only of mean values for demographic and life-history parameters, but also temporal and spatial trends, variability, and underlying causes. For endangered Kemp's ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii), the need for baseline information of this type has been emphasized during attempts to understand causes underlying the recent truncation in the recovery trajectory for nesting females. To provide insight into variability in age and size at sexual maturation (ASM and SSM) and long-term growth patterns likely to influence population trends, we conducted skeletochronological analysis of humerus bones from 333 Kemp's ridleys stranded throughout the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) from 1993 to 2010.

Inter-nesting movements and habitat-use of adult female Kemp's ridley turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.

Species vulnerability is increased when individuals congregate in restricted areas for breeding; yet, breeding habitats are not well defined for many marine species. Identification and quantification of these breeding habitats are essential to effective conservation. Satellite telemetry and switching state-space modeling (SSM) were used to define inter-nesting habitat of endangered Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hypothermic stunning of green sea turtles in a western Gulf of Mexico foraging habitat.

Texas waters provide one of the most important developmental and foraging habitats for juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the western Gulf of Mexico, but hypothermic stunning is a significant threat and was the largest cause of green turtle strandings in Texas from 1980 through 2015; of the 8,107 green turtles found stranded, 4,529 (55.9%) were victims of hypothermic stunning. Additionally, during this time, 203 hypothermic stunned green turtles were found incidentally captured due to power plant water intake entrapment.

Inorganic elements in green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas): relationships among external and internal tissues.

Inorganic elements from anthropogenic sources have entered marine environments worldwide and are detectable in marine organisms, including sea turtles. Threatened and endangered classifications of sea turtles have heretofore made assessments of contaminant concentrations difficult because of regulatory restrictions on obtaining samples using nonlethal techniques. In the present study, claw and skin biopsy samples were examined as potential indicators of internal tissue burdens in green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas).

Predicting the distribution of oceanic-stage Kemp's ridley sea turtles.

The inaccessibility of open ocean habitat and the cryptic nature of small animals are fundamental problems when assessing the distribution of oceanic-stage sea turtles and other marine animals sharing similar life-history traits. Most methods that estimate patterns of abundance cannot be applied in situations that are extremely data limited. Here, we use a movement ecology framework to generate the first predicted distributions for the oceanic stage of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii).

Foraging area fidelity for Kemp's ridleys in the Gulf of Mexico.

For many marine species, locations of key foraging areas are not well defined. We used satellite telemetry and switching state-space modeling (SSM) to identify distinct foraging areas used by Kemp's ridley turtles (Lepidochelys kempii) tagged after nesting during 1998-2011 at Padre Island National Seashore, Texas, USA (PAIS; N = 22), and Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico (RN; N = 9). Overall, turtles traveled a mean distance of 793.

Natal homing in juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta).

Juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from West Atlantic nesting beaches occupy oceanic (pelagic) habitats in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, whereas larger juvenile turtles occupy shallow (neritic) habitats along the continental coastline of North America. Hence the switch from oceanic to neritic stage can involve a trans-oceanic migration. Several researchers have suggested that at the end of the oceanic phase, juveniles are homing to feeding habitats in the vicinity of their natal rookery.