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In response to a call from the US National Research Council for research programs to combine their data to improve sea turtle population assessments, we analyzed somatic growth data for Northwest Atlantic (NWA) loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) from 10 research programs. We assessed growth dynamics over wide ranges of geography (9-33°N latitude), time (1978-2012), and body size (35.4-103.3 cm carapace length). Generalized additive models revealed significant spatial and temporal variation in growth rates and a significant decline in growth rates with increasing body size. Growth was more rapid in waters south of the USA (, Introduction A long-term regional approach is essential to understand the somatic growth dynamics of the Northwest Atlantic (NWA) loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) stock that nests along the southeast coast [...]

Abstract--Seasonal trawling was conducted randomly in coastal (depths of 4.6-17 m) waters from St. Augustine, Florida, (29.9°N) to Winyah Bay, South Carolina (33.1°N), during 2000-03, 2008-09, and 2011 to assess [...]

Abstract--Trawling was conducted in the Charleston, South Carolina, shipping channel between May and August during 2004-07 to evaluate loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) catch rates and demographic distributions. Two hundred [...]

Background: Mercury is a pervasive environmental pollutant whose toxic effects have not been studied in sea turtles in spite of their threatened status and evidence of immunosuppression in diseased populations. [...]

Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) is a migratory pelagic species that is found in tropical and subtropical seas of the world, except in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean. The United States [...]

Abstract--Ultrasonic transmitters were surgically implanted into adult tautog (n=27,400-514 mm TL) to document seasonal occurrence and site utilization at four sites situated within known tautog habitat near Cape Charles, Virginia, [...]

Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) are opportunistic carnivores that feed primarily on benthic invertebrates and fish. Sea turtle rehabilitation requires provision of a species‐specific, balanced diet that supplies nutrition similar to that of a wild diet; this can be challenging because free‐ranging loggerheads' diets vary depending on their life stage and geographic location, with predominant prey species dictated by local availability. The goal of this study was to better understand the nutritional needs of subadult and adult loggerheads in rehabilitation. This was accomplished by conducting a retrospective survey of stomach contents identified during gross necropsy of 153 deceased loggerheads that stranded in coastal Georgia, USA. A total of 288 different forage items were identified; the most frequently observed prey items belong to the subphylum Crustacea (N = 131), followed by bony fish (Osteichthyes; N = 45), gastropod mollusks (N = 40), bivalve mollusks (N = 23), and Atlantic horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus; N = 15). The proportions of certain prey items differed significantly with turtle size; adult turtles ate proportionately more gastropods (p = 0.001), and subadults ate proportionately more fish (p = 0.01). Stomach contents information was used to determine common local prey items (blue crab, cannonball jellyfish, horseshoe crab, whelk), which were evaluated for nutritional content. Additionally, we compared hematology and plasma biochemistry profiles (including proteins, trace minerals, and vitamins) between four cohorts of loggerhead turtles, including free‐ranging subadults and adults, nesting females, and loggerheads undergoing rehabilitation. This information was applied to inform a regionally specific, formulated diet for tube feeding, and a supplement containing vitamins and minerals for captive loggerheads, to more closely approximate the nutritional content of their natural diet. Assessing the regional and temporal variability in loggerhead diets is an important component in their effective conservation because resultant data can be used to help understand the impacts of environmental perturbations on benthic food webs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronically debilitated loggerhead sea turtles Caretta caretta (DT) are characterized by emaciation, lethargy, and heavy barnacle coverage. Although histopathological findings associated with this condition have been reported, only limited data is available on health variables with clinical application. The objectives of this study were to 1) to compare morphometrics, clinicopathological variables, and immune functions of DTs to a group of apparently healthy loggerhead turtles to better understand the pathophysiology of the condition and 2) to assess health parameters in live debilitated turtles as they recovered during rehabilitation in order to identify potential prognostic indicators. We examined and sampled 43 DTs stranded from North Carolina to Florida for 47 health variables using standardized protocols to further characterize the condition. DTs were grouped into categories of severity of the condition, and those that survived were sampled at four time points through rehabilitation. All groups and time points were compared among DTs and to clinically healthy loggerhead turtles. Compared to healthy turtles, DTs had significantly lower body condition index, packed cell volume (PCV), total white blood cell (WBC) count, lymphocytes, glucose (Glc), total protein, all protein fractions as determined by electrophoresis, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), Ca:P ratio, potassium (K), lymphocyte proliferation, and greater heterophil toxicity and left-shifting, uric acid (UA), aspartate aminotransferase, creatine kinase, lysozyme, and respiratory burst. From admission to recovery, hematology and plasma chemistry data improved as expected. The most informative prognostic indicators, as determined by correlations with a novel severity indicator (based on survival times), were plastron concavity, P, albumin, total solids, UA, lymphocyte proliferation, WBC, K, Glc, Ca:P, and PCV. The results of this study document the wide range and extent of morphometric and metabolic derangements in chronically debilitated turtles. Monitoring morphometrics and clinicopathological variables of these animals is essential for diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis during rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Wire‐mesh traps are extensively used to harvest blue crabs Callinectes sapidus but also capture over 40 other species. Numerous studies have evaluated bycatch reduction devices (BRDs) to reduce the incidental capture of one species, the diamondback terrapin Malaclemys terrapin, since 1992. Despite decades of research, widespread adoption of BRDs as a conservation action has not occurred, which partly stems from seemingly conflicting results from a multitude of BRD designs along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. In this study, we developed a simple scoring system to assess the probability of trap entry by legal‐sized (≥12.7‐cm carapace width; n = 736) blue crabs as well as trap exclusion of diamondback terrapins (n = 985) based on morphometric measurements for both species. Probability of entry or exclusion for each legal‐sized blue crab and diamondback terrapin was assessed for each of 8,196 theoretical BRD sizes encompassing the range of BRD widths and heights actually tested since 1992. Predictive relationships for trap entry or exclusion for each theoretical BRD size were evaluated as a function of three geometric BRD attributes: BRD area (cm2), diagonal BRD opening (cm), and the ratio of BRD width to height. Comparison of observed (35 data sets) versus predicted (entry or exclusion probabilities for BRDs) catches for both species revealed that BRDs have performed as predicted for legal‐sized blue crab catch (slope = 0.99; >81,000 crabs) but have captured considerably fewer diamondback terrapins than predicted based on BRD size alone (slope = 0.28; 1,430 diamondback terrapins). Analyses also substantiated superior (i.e., >30% better) diamondback terrapin exclusion potential for a BRD we designed that measured 5.1–6.4 cm (height) × 7.3 cm (width). Increasing the width of this BRD by 0.4 cm would also achieve a 99% capture probability for legal‐sized blue crabs, comparable to other widely tested and marketed BRD designs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Kemp's ridley turtle is the rarest species of sea turtle and is considered to be critically endangered. While the main habitat of adults is the Gulf of Mexico, juveniles forage off the northeastern United States during summer. However, when juveniles fail to leave this area in autumn before water temperatures fall below 10 °C, they become cold-stunned and strand on beaches. Every winter, there are coordinated efforts to rescue and rehabilitate these stranded sea turtles. Cold-stunned sea turtles require supportive care because they suffer from a variety of medical problems, including steatitis, or inflammation of fat tissue. The goal of this study was to further understand steatitis by investigating blood analytes involved with vitamin E metabolism, and investigating microscopic changes that occur in affected fat tissue. We found that various contributing factors may play a role in the development of steatitis. Based on these findings, we conclude that enhanced vitamin E supplementation and dietary modification during rehabilitation may be useful in preventing and treating steatitis. The results from this study will contribute to improving rehabilitation outcomes and successful release of this endangered sea turtle species. The pathogenesis of steatitis that infrequently occurs in cold-stunned Kemp's ridley sea turtles (KRT; Lepidochelys kempii) has been undetermined. The objectives of this study were to investigate the clinical (n = 23) and histologic findings (n = 11) in cold-stunned KRT, and to compare plasma concentrations of α-tocopherol (vitamin E), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and the TBARS to vitamin E (T/E) ratio (an assessment of oxidative stress) between cold-stunned KRT with clinically and/or histologically confirmed steatitis (n = 10) and free-ranging KRT (n = 9). None of the cold-stunned turtles had clinically detectable steatitis at admission, and the median number of days to diagnosis of steatitis was 71 (range 33–469). Histologic findings of affected adipose tissue included heterophilic (n = 9) and/or histiocytic (n = 5) steatitis, fat necrosis (n = 7), myonecrosis (n = 2), and intralesional bacteria (n = 6). Cold-stunned KRT had significantly lower plasma vitamin E concentrations (median = 3.5 nmol/g), lower plasma TBARS concentrations (median = 1.6 nmol/g), and higher T/E ratios (median = 0.37), than controls (208.8 nmol/g; 2.1 nmol/g; 0.01, respectively). These results suggest a multifactorial etiology for the development of steatitis in KRT during rehabilitation, including tissue injury, septicemia, and various factors resulting in imbalances of anti-/oxidative status. By highlighting the need to provide more effective vitamin E supplementation, and the need to re-assess specific components of the diet, this study may lead to reduced incidence and improved medical management of steatitis in cold-stunned sea turtles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pathogenesis of steatitis that infrequently occurs in cold-stunned Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (KRT; Lepidochelys kempii ) has been undetermined. The objectives of this study were to investigate the clinical ( n = 23) and histologic findings ( n = 11) in cold-stunned KRT, and to compare plasma concentrations of α-tocopherol (vitamin E), thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), and the TBARS to vitamin E (T/E) ratio (an assessment of oxidative stress) between cold-stunned KRT with clinically and/or histologically confirmed steatitis ( n = 10) and free-ranging KRT ( n = 9). None of the cold-stunned turtles had clinically detectable steatitis at admission, and the median number of days to diagnosis of steatitis was 71 (range 33–469). Histologic findings of affected adipose tissue included heterophilic ( n = 9) and/or histiocytic ( n = 5) steatitis, fat necrosis ( n = 7), myonecrosis ( n = 2), and intralesional bacteria ( n = 6). Cold-stunned KRT had significantly lower plasma vitamin E concentrations (median = 3.5 nmol/g), lower plasma TBARS concentrations (median = 1.6 nmol/g), and higher T/E ratios (median = 0.50), than controls (62.3 nmol/g; 2.1 nmol/g; 0.03, respectively). These results suggest a multifactorial etiology for the development of steatitis in KRT during rehabilitation, including tissue injury, septicemia, and various factors resulting in imbalances of anti-/oxidative status. By highlighting the need to provide more effective vitamin E supplementation, and the need to re-assess specific components of the diet, this study may lead to reduced incidence and improved medical management of steatitis in cold-stunned sea turtles.