Investigation of a Large-Scale Gopher Tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus) Mortality Event on a Public Conservation Land in Florida, USA.

In August 2015, a gopher tortoise ( Gopherus polyphemus) mortality event was documented on a 40-ha area of Lake Louisa State Park, Lake County, Florida, US. To quantify the extent of the die-off and the seroprevalence of Mycoplasma agassizii and Mycoplasma testudineum, two causative agents of mycoplasmal upper respiratory tract disease (URTD), we conducted a tortoise shell survey on 25 and 26 August 2015 and collected blood samples from live tortoises on 2-4 September 2015 and 1-13 August 2016 within the area of documented mortality. We discovered 94 shells and measured the degree of disarticulation to estimate time since mortality.