Aural abscesses are a common health problem in free-ranging eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina), and they have been associated with high body burdens of organochlorine (OC) compounds, which are known disruptors of vitamin A. The objective of this study was to determine if the presence of pathologic lesions in box turtles were correlated with increased and decreased levels of hepatic OC compounds and vitamin A, respectively. A graded scale for the pathologic changes observed in tissue samples collected from abscessed and nonabscessed box turtles over a 2-yr period (2003-04) was developed, and the levels of OC compounds and vitamin A in livers collected from the same turtles were determined through chemical analysis. Sixty-eight turtles (40 with aural abscesses and 28 without) were included in the study. Relationships between variables were analyzed using Spearman's Rank Correlation Test, where P=0.05 was considered significant. Twenty-seven different OC compounds were identified. Mean+/-standard deviation (SD) total OC compound level for all turtles was 0.35+/-0.83 ppm (range 0-5.81 ppm), and mean+/-SD vitamin A level was 72.8+/-98.6 ppm (range 0-535.7 ppm). There was no correlation between pathologic score and total hepatic OC compound concentration (r = -0.18, P = 0.16). However, pathologic score was positively correlated with o,p'-DDT (r = 0.25, P = 0.05). Vitamin A was positively correlated with pathologic score (r = 0.32, P = 0.01), which was contrary to the expected result. There was no linear correlation between vitamin A and total hepatic OC compound concentration (r = -0.04, P = 0.75). However, a nonlinear regression provided a significant fit (r(2) = 0.12, P = 0.02), indicating an initial increase in vitamin A as the OC compound burden increased, followed by a decline as OC compound levels increased further. The hepatic OC compound residue concentrations in these box turtles were lower compared to levels found in freshwater aquatic turtles but similar to levels in other terrestrial reptile species. This study provides mixed results in support of a role of OC compounds, presumably of environmental origin, in the etiology of aural abscesses in free-ranging box turtles.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.7589/0090-3558-44.4.922 | DOI Listing |
Comp Biochem Physiol C Toxicol Pharmacol
January 2025
Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Iwate University, 4-3-5, Ueda, Morioka-city 020-8551, Japan.
As temperatures rise due to increasingly severe global warming, the effect of high temperatures on wildlife, including green sea turtles, is one of the issues that must be addressed to ensure the conservation of biodiversity. In the current study, we found that green sea turtle cell death due to apoptosis occurred at 37 °C, which suppressed cell proliferation. We also found that high temperature-induced heat stress led to the accumulation of DNA damage in green sea turtle cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Data
December 2024
Sarawak Forestry Corporation, Sarawak, 93250, Malaysia.
Photo- and video-based reidentification of green sea turtles using their natural markers is far less invasive than artificial tagging. An RGB camera mounted on a man-portable rig, was used to collect video data on Greater Talang Island (1 °54'45″N 109 °46'33″E) from September to October 2022, and September 2023. This islet is located 30 minutes offshore from the Sematan district in Southwest Sarawak, Malaysia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Vet Med Assoc
December 2024
1Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
Objective: To compare head-started and free-ranging eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina) blood analytes to evaluate head-starting practices and venipuncture site suitability.
Methods: Eastern box turtles were head-started by Jekyll Island State Park Authority's Georgia Sea Turtle Center. Free-ranging resident box turtles on Jekyll Island State Park were captured.
J Virol Methods
February 2025
Wildlife Epidemiology Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61802, USA; Chicago Zoological Society/Brookfield Zoo, Brookfield, IL 60513, USA. Electronic address:
Sci Rep
November 2024
Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057, Zurich, Switzerland.
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