Drivers of litter ingestion by sea turtles: Three decades of empirical data collected in Atlantic Europe and the Mediterranean.

Sea turtles are considered as bio-indicators for monitoring the efficiency of restoration measures to reduce marine litter impacts on health. However, the lack of extended and standardised empirical data has prevented the accurate analysis of the factors influencing litter ingestion and the relationships with individual health. Historic data collected from 1988 and standard data collected from 2016 were harmonised to enable such analyses on necropsied loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in eight Mediterranean and North-East Atlantic countries.

Larval cestodes infecting the deep-water fish, Cataetyx laticeps (Pisces: Bythitidae) from Madeira Archipelago, Atlantic Ocean.

Parasites of deep-water fishes are less known in comparison to the parasites of fishes living in the demersal and epipelagic ocean zones. In the present research note we report the occurrence of larval trypanorhynch cestodes in a rare deep-water fish, the deep-water brotula, Cataetyx laticeps. Based on the 28S rDNA (region D1-D3) sequence homology and the phylogenetic analysis, the larval cestodes are putatively assigned to the genus Grillotia.

Blood biochemistry reference values for wild juvenile loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from Madeira archipelago.

Standard biochemical parameters were determined in wild juvenile loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta living offshore Madeira Island, northeast Atlantic. We analyzed the influence of age, sex, sea surface temperature, and body condition index on biochemical parameters including uric acid, total bilirubin, total cholesterol, creatinine kinase (CK), glucose, total protein, urea nitrogen, lactate dehydrogenase, aspartate aminotranspherase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), albumin, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), sodium (NA), potassium (K), chloride, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium. Significant positive correlations were found between turtle body size and total cholesterol, total protein, and albumin.

Helminth component community of the loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, from Madeira Archipelago, Portugal.

The helminth fauna of pelagic-stage loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta, is still poorly known. Here, we describe the helminth-component community of healthy, free-ranging juvenile loggerhead sea turtles captured in the waters around Madeira Island, Portugal. Fifty-seven were used in this study.