1,721,002 research outputs found
First evidence of migration by loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta Caretta, from the eastern Mediterranean to North America
No full textLoggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) frequent very distant areas during their life stages, and information about migratory routes and geographical range is key for planning their conservation. Here we report on the first direct evidence of a loggerhead turtle migrating from the eastern Mediterranean to the North American coast. A juvenile of 57.1 cm curved carapace length was tagged and released from Lampedusa Island, Italy, in 2008 and found dead on the Massachusetts coast in 2012. Its size and first location fit with the current knowledge about Atlantic loggerheads entering the Mediterranean and this finding supports the hypothesis of homing behavior as the explanation for the low genetic flow estimated between the Atlantic and Mediterranean populations
Comparision between left and right surgical approach through the soft tissues of the inguinal region in sea turtles.
No full textThe accidental capture of sea turtles with longline is a frequent event
in the Mediterranean sea. Frequently hooks are located in oral cavity
or oesophagus and surgical removal is relatively easy; whereas in
many other cases hooks and especially lines are located in lower
digestive tract, often causing severe damages, as serious injuries
on the intestinal wall. Recently, effective surgical techniques have
been proposed for hook and line extraction from different districts
of digestive tract. The access to the coelomic cavity through the
prefemoral soft tissues allows the removal of hooks and lines from
the caudal portions of the digestive tract and it is often employed
in conjunction with cervical or axillary approach, if one or more
hooks are located in oesophagus or stomach and lines cross the
entire digestive tract. In this study, the left inguinal approach is
compared to the right one, and results are reported concerning 97
turtles treated by these routes for the extraction of foreign bodies
from digestive tract. The surgical approach through soft tissues of
the right inguinal region was performed in 63 turtles. In 23 cases
a unique approach was used to remove hooks lodged in the lower
digestive tract and lines extended through the entire digestive tract.
In 40 cases this approach was performed together with cervical
and left axillary surgical approaches, to remove hooks lodged in
oesophagus or stomach, and lines crossing the lower digestive tract.
The surgical approach through the soft tissues of the left inguinal
region was performed in 34 turtles. This technique was employed
as a single approach in 5 cases to remove hooks stopped in the
pyloric portion of the stomach, and in 10 cases to remove lines
crossing the entire digestive tract. In the remaining 19 cases the
left inguinal approach was employed additionally to the cervical
one, to remove hooks lodged in the oesophagus and lines extended
through the entire digestive tract. To remove hooks located in the
intestine, we chose the side closest to the site of the foreign body.
To remove line crossing all the digestive tract, the choice of the
side access was initially random, but experience showed how the
right inguinal approach is to be preferred. Indeed, we tested how
this approach allows the exteriorization of longer tracts of intestine,
whereas with the left inguinal approach is often difficult to expose
the tract between jejunum and ileum, because this portion is more
subject than others to plication, intussusceptions and severe
lacerations of walls, because of the major tensions that line induces
there. To guarantee the survival of the patient, our direct experience
show definitely how it is important to operate as soon as possible,
in particular when it could be present a line in the digestive tract.
The choice of the surgical approach appears crucial to solve lifethreatening situations, in which lines cross the entire digestive tube
An unusual nest activity along southern Sicilian coasts an hope for sea turtle survival.
No full textPreliminary work on vitellogenin purification from serum of Caretta caretta collected at the WWF Seaturtle Rescue Center of Lampedusa, Sicily (Italy).
No full textThe presence of vitellogenin in male is a useful marker of endocrine disruption in oviparous vertebrates such as seaturtles and its quantification helps to evaluate the habitats’ quality.
Considering the lack of commercial systems for vitellogenin analysis and the lack of specific standards for seaturtles we focused the work on the definition of a reliable method for vitellogenin purification and quantification in Caretta caretta.
Heparinized blood (2 cc) samples were collected, after morphological measurement, from individuals of Caretta caretta hospitalized at the WWF Seaturtle Rescue Center Lampedusa, Sicily (Italy) and obtained plasma was stored frozen at –20°C till analysis.
For VTG purification 100 ml of each serum’s samples was used. The VTG purification was obtained by precipitation while its quantification was performed by spectrophotometric method, using standard staining and protocol (“DC protein assay”, BIORAD).
VTG levels are in agreement with subjects gender. The marker was detected in all animals, even if in male turtles the levels were very low.
Overall, there seems to be no risk for reproductive health of seaturtles from Sicily
Barnacles (Cirripedia, Thoracica) and associated epibionts from sea turtles in the central mediterranean
No full textThe association patterns and ecology of sea turtle epibionts, and especially obligate epibionts, are still poorly known. Epibiont communities were investigated in the central Mediterranean Sea in relation to the host habitat and seven species of barnacles, three amphipods, one crab, and one tanaid were found on 117 loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta. Particular attention was given to barnacles, some of them being obligate turtle epibionts, with a total of 3330 individuals examined, among which high intraspecific aggregation was observed. Results indicate that (i) the species composition of barnacles varies among turtles frequenting not only different geographic areas but also different habitats in the same area, (ii) different species have marked preferences for hosts frequenting pelagic vs. benthic habitats, and also (iii) for body parts of the host representing microhabitats with different features and trophic opportunities, (iv) settlement is favoured by the presence of conspecific individuals and possibly also (v) by individuals of related species, notably Chelonibia testudinaria that may act as a pioneer species, and finally (vi) barnacles show rapid turnover on turtles, with relatively short lives, rapid growth, and high juvenile mortality. © 2012 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden
Blood chemistry values on loggerhead (Caretta caretta): fluctuations in comparison of clinical conditions and sample techniques
No full textBlood samples in Caretta caretta have been rarely explored and it’s quite unusual to investigate and determine serum biochemical values correlating with the health of these animals. Nevertheless knowing blood parameters could result precious in rescue activities. We tried to discover possible existing relationships between clinical conditions and blood values. We have compared health conditions and the answer about physical diseases in a group of 80 Caretta caretta, recovered in the WWF Rescue Center of Lampedusa, between June and September 2008.
We clinically monitored all the patients (5 males, 3 females and 72 subadults), and we drew blood samples by jugular and sometimes by occipital sinus. Blood sampling and serum handling were performed in double way, in the light and in the dark.
We determined the following serum parameters: total proteins, glucose, BUN, creatinine, uric acid, AST, ALT, CPK, ALP, amylase, cholesterol, triglycerids, total biliribin, sodium, potassium, calcium.
48 sea turtles were in good conditions, whereas 32 showed lesions caused by fishery interactions: flippers ischemic necrosis, hooks or lines into the digestive channel, and they all underwent an operation.
The analytic results (mean±SD) were statistically analysed through ANOVA multivariation and Pearson test. We noted sample techniques influence in a significant statistic way (p<0.01) the bilirubin results: this pigment resulted impossible to dose in samples performed in the light, but it was of 0.15±0.06 mg/dl in dark samples, probably correlated to the high bilirubin photosensibility.
We also registered significant statistic differences (p<0.01) in glucose and cholesterol, linked to the weight: in over 20 kg turtles, these two parameters were proportionately higher in comparison with lower weight turtles.
The comparison between healthy and sick turtles shows significant statistic differences for glucose (p<0.05) and uric acid (p<0.05), both higher in turtles needing an operation. The AST, ALT, CPK differences were lower between the two groups of turtles, anyway they were higher in physically stressed turtles, especially in the group of lower weight turtles. These last parameters could be considered indicative of poor muscular trophism; their evaluation could result very precious and useful for prognosis.
The significancy of our results confirms the importance of the analytical determinations in order to better understand turtles conditions and to improve medical practices
Intra-gear variation in sea turtle bycatch: Implications for fisheries management
No full textIn the Mediterranean Sea, bottom trawl, bottom longline and set nets are the fishing gears with the highest impact on marine turtle populations. These demersal gear types are characterised by a variety of métiers (fishing operations targeting a specific assemblage of species, using specific gear, during a precise period of the year and/or within a specific area). Data on fishing methods, target species and turtle bycatch were collected through interviews in three different study areas in the central Mediterranean. The results show that, even in the same fishing area, different métiers of the same gear can have a different impact on turtles. These findings have several implications. First, traditional turtle bycatch estimations and comparisons based on a fishing gear as a whole may be spatially or temporally biased by spatial and temporal differences in métier composition, respectively. Second, the efficiency of conservation measures may be different according to the métiers involved and caution is needed when measures developed in small areas with certain métiers are exported to a wider scale with possibly very different métiers. Third, conservation measures may induce shifts among métiers that may have an impact on other species, but such shifts are difficult to detect. All this suggests that, in the Mediterranean, a métier-based approach is needed to provide realistic estimates of turtle bycatch, to increase the efficiency of conservation measures by targeting only the most relevant métiers and to predict the changes in target species and effort distribution that can be driven by conservation measures. The variability of fishing methods and métiers implies that the most effective management strategies should be identified at relatively small geographical scales
Lead concentration in blood of Caretta caretta sampled at the WWF Seaturtle Center of Lampedusa, Sicily (Italy)
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