The use of animal-borne devices (= biologgers) has revolutionized the study of marine megafauna, yet there remains a paucity of data concerning the behavioral and physiological impacts of biologger attachment and retention. Here, we used animal-borne cameras to characterize the behavior and dive duration of juvenile green turtles () in The Bahamas for up to 210 min after biologger deployment ( = 58). For a "control," we used unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) to collect comparable data from nonhandled green turtles ( = 25) in the same habitats. Animal-borne footage revealed that immediately after release turtles spent 70%-80% of their time swimming with a mean dive duration of 45.3 ± 34.3 s (SD). Over time, the percentage of time spent swimming decreased alongside an increase in dive duration until reaching a plateau around 90 min. However, the "control" UAV data for time spent swimming and dive durations were more comparable to the behaviors observed immediately after biologger deployment than during the plateau. We observed no significant differences in dive durations based on body size, and differences in behaviors based on body size were also minimal. We conclude that the effects of handling stress and biologger attachment on the behavior and dive duration of juvenile green turtles are evident up to 90 min postdeployment. After that, it is possible that either: (1) the effects of biologger deployment and retention are negligible, but UAVs may produce biased data that overestimates the proportion of time turtles typically spend swimming or (2) longer durations (> 210 min) are necessary for turtle behaviors to return to nonhandled levels and UAVs accurately represent the proportion of time turtles typically spend swimming. Answering this question, alongside further research into the physiological and behavioral implications of handling stress and biologger attachment, is essential to improve ethical biologging guidelines for sea turtles.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70707 | DOI Listing |
Animals (Basel)
December 2024
Instituto de Investigaciones Sobre los Recursos Naturales, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Morelia 58330, Michoacán, Mexico.
Pathogens
December 2024
School of Agriculture Science, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia.
Malaria and other haemosporidian parasites are common in reptiles. During baseline health surveys of sea turtles in Western Australia (WA), haemosporidian parasites were detected in flatback () and green () turtle erythrocytes during routine blood film examination. 130 blood samples were screened via polymerase chain reaction (PCR), including 105 20 and 5 olive ridley turtles ().
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 PDFThe use of animal-borne devices (= biologgers) has revolutionized the study of marine megafauna, yet there remains a paucity of data concerning the behavioral and physiological impacts of biologger attachment and retention. Here, we used animal-borne cameras to characterize the behavior and dive duration of juvenile green turtles () in The Bahamas for up to 210 min after biologger deployment ( = 58). For a "control," we used unoccupied aerial vehicles (UAVs) to collect comparable data from nonhandled green turtles ( = 25) in the same habitats.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Zoo Wildl Med
December 2024
Florida Atlantic University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Fort Pierce, FL 34936, USA.
Currently there are few antibacterial dosage regimens established to be safe and effective for sea turtles. Pharmacokinetic evaluation of antibiotics is an essential step in establishing accurate dosage guidelines for a particular species. Metronidazole is an antibiotic that is effective against anaerobic bacteria and some protozoa.
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