Evaluation of Gonadal Tissue to Validate Size at Reproductive Maturity in Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles Found Stranded in Texas, USA

The Kemp’s ridley, Lepidochelys kempii, is the most endangered sea turtle in the world. Anthropogenic mortality of Kemp’s ridleys has been well documented in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), USA. We evaluated the reproductive maturity of 75 Kemp’s ridley sea turtles found dead on GOM beaches on Mustang Island and North Padre Island, Texas, USA, 1994–1999. Straight carapace length (SCL) ranged from 40.8 to 68.7 cm. Preserved gonads and associated tissues were examined and measured. Gonadal measurements were then compared with SCL. Adults and juveniles shared a larger range of carapace measurements than expected, supporting the idea that juveniles spend several years in a pubertal state. Our results suggest caution when using SCL, tail length, or curved front claws alone as indicators of sexual maturity. In fact, SCL can be used to discern adults from juveniles with more predictive power when coupled with testis length or oviduct length measurements, thus allowing endangered species managers to more clearly identify demographic shifts in the number of mature animals, which can precede population changes. This study shows that information gained from the examination of stranded sea turtles allows wildlife managers to make more informed decisions regarding conservation priorities.

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Multiple Paternity in a Reintroduced Rookery of Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles on South Padre Island, Texas

Journal of Herpetology ◽

10.1670/18-003 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 54 (1) ◽

pp. 50

Author(s):

Anna M. Frankel ◽

Dean A. Williams

Keyword(s):

Sea Turtles ◽

Multiple Paternity ◽

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles ◽

Padre Island ◽

Kemp's Ridley

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Evaluation of the Respiratory Microbiome and the Use of Tracheal Lavage as a Diagnostic Tool in Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys kempii)

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11102927 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 2927

Author(s):

Kerry L. McNally ◽

Jennifer L. Bowen ◽

Jennifer O. Brisson ◽

Adam Kennedy ◽

Charles J. Innis

Keyword(s):

Microbial Community ◽

Respiratory Tract ◽

Microbial Communities ◽

Sea Turtles ◽

Sea Turtle ◽

Lepidochelys Kempii ◽

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles ◽

Tracheal Lavage ◽

High Degree ◽

Kemp's Ridley

Respiratory disease is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in sea turtles, including the Kemp’s ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii). Although culture-dependent methods are typically used to characterize microbes associated with pneumonia and to determine treatment, culture-independent methods can provide a deeper understanding of the respiratory microbial communities and lead to a more accurate diagnosis. In this study, we characterized the tracheal lavage microbiome from cold-stunned Kemp’s ridley sea turtles at three time points during rehabilitation (intake, rehabilitation, and convalescence) by analyzing the 16S rRNA gene collected from tracheal lavage samples. We retrospectively developed a radiographic scoring system to grade the severity of lung abnormalities in these turtles and found no differences in diversity or composition of microbial communities based on radiographic score. We also found that the culture isolates from tracheal lavage samples, as well as other previously reported sea turtle pathogens, were present in variable abundance across sequenced samples. In addition to the tracheal microbial community of live turtles, we characterized microbial communities from other segments of the respiratory tract (glottis, trachea, anterior lung, posterior lung) from deceased turtles. We found a high degree of variability within turtles and a high degree of dissimilarity between different segments of the respiratory tract and the tracheal lavage collected from the same turtle. In summary, we found that the pulmonary microbial community associated with pneumonia in sea turtles is complex and does not correlate well with the microbial community as identified by tracheal lavage. These results underscore the limitations of using tracheal lavage for identification of the causative agents of pneumonia in sea turtles.

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INVITED ARTICLE FROM THE 2021 TEXAS ACADEMY OF SCIENCE TEXAS DISTINGUISHED SCIENTIST

Texas Journal of Science ◽

10.32011/txjsci_73_1_tds ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 73 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Donna J. Shaver

Keyword(s):

Sea Turtles ◽

Sea Turtle ◽

Leadership Role ◽

Scientific Publications ◽

Corpus Christi ◽

Lifetime Achievement ◽

The Usa ◽

Padre Island ◽

Conservation Projects ◽

Kemp's Ridley

Donna Shaver is the Chief of the Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery at Padre Island National Seashore and the Texas Coordinator of the U.S. Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network. She received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Sea Turtle Society in 2018, the 2013 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Recovery Champion Award for Agency Partner in 2014, the Corpus Christi Caller Times 2011 Newsmaker of the Year in 2012, and she was the ABC World News Tonight’s Person of the Week on July 29, 2005. She has studied Texas sea turtles since 1980 and is well known for her leadership role in the recovery of the critically endangered Kemp’s ridley sea turtle. Her studies describing sea turtle migratory and foraging habitat use, as well as nesting and stranding trends, have led to increased protections for sea turtles in Texas and beyond. With over 400 scientific publications and presentations, Shaver is distinguished as one of the top sea turtle biologists in the USA and was named the 2021 Texas Distinguished Scientist at the annual meeting of the Texas Academy of Science. Shaver oversees a variety of sea turtle research and conservation projects conducted in Texas, collaborates with other researchers in the USA and Mexico, and provides training and leadership to hundreds of biologists and volunteers working with sea turtles in Texas.

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The Effects of Feeding on Hematological and Plasma Biochemical Profiles in Green (Chelonia mydas) and Kemp's Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) Sea Turtles

Veterinary Medicine International ◽

10.4061/2011/890829 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2011 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Eric T. Anderson ◽

Larry J. Minter ◽

Elsburgh O. Clarke ◽

Raymond M. Mroch ◽

Jean F. Beasley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sea Turtles ◽

Chelonia Mydas ◽

Sea Turtle ◽

Blood Collection ◽

Plasma Biochemistry ◽

Turtle Species ◽

Green Turtles ◽

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles ◽

Biochemical Profiles ◽

Kemp's Ridley

In mammals, lipemic blood from sampling too soon after an animal feeds can have substantial effects on biochemical values. Plasma biochemical values in reptiles may be affected by species, age, season, and nutritional state. However, fasting status is not routinely considered when sampling reptile blood. In this paper, we evaluated 2-hour postprandial blood collection in two sea turtle species to investigate the effects of feeding on hematological and plasma biochemical values. Feeding had no significant effects on hematological values in either species, nor did it have an effect on plasma biochemistry values in Kemp's ridley sea turtles. In postprandial green turtles, total protein, albumin, ALP, AST, ALT, amylase, and cholesterol increased significantly, and chloride decreased significantly. Although statistically significant changes were observed, the median percent differences between pre- and postprandial values did not exceed 10% for any of these analytes and would not likely alter the clinical interpretation.

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Predicting the distribution of oceanic-stage Kemp's ridley sea turtles

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2013.0345 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 9 (5) ◽

pp. 20130345 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Nathan F. Putman ◽

Katherine L. Mansfield ◽

Ruoying He ◽

Donna J. Shaver ◽

Philippe Verley

Keyword(s):

Ocean Circulation ◽

Life History Traits ◽

Annual Variation ◽

Sea Turtles ◽

Movement Ecology ◽

Sea Turtle ◽

Marine Animals ◽

Demographic Models ◽

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles ◽

Kemp's Ridley

The inaccessibility of open ocean habitat and the cryptic nature of small animals are fundamental problems when assessing the distribution of oceanic-stage sea turtles and other marine animals sharing similar life-history traits. Most methods that estimate patterns of abundance cannot be applied in situations that are extremely data limited. Here, we use a movement ecology framework to generate the first predicted distributions for the oceanic stage of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle ( Lepidochelys kempii ). Our simulations of particle dispersal within ocean circulation models reveal substantial annual variation in distribution and survival among simulated cohorts. Such techniques can help prioritize areas for conservation, and supply inputs for more realistic demographic models attempting to characterize population trends.

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Rediscovering Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii): Molecular Analysis and Threats

10.5772/intechopen.96655 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Miguel Angel Reyes-López ◽

Fátima Yedith Camacho-Sánchez ◽

Catherine E. Hart ◽

Valeria Leal-Sepúlveda ◽

Kevin Alan Zavala-Félix ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anthropogenic Activities ◽

Sea Turtles ◽

Chelonia Mydas ◽

Sea Turtle ◽

Olive Ridley ◽

Lepidochelys Kempii ◽

Eretmochelys Imbricata ◽

Sources Of Pollution ◽

Padre Island ◽

Kemp's Ridley

Sea turtles are reptiles that have inhabited the earth for 100 million years. These are divided into 2 families (Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae) and 7 species of sea turtles in the world: the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea); hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata); Kemp’s ridley (Lepidochelys kempii); olive ridley (L. olivacea); Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta); flatback sea turtle (Natator depressus) and green turtle (Chelonia mydas). In particular, Kemp’s ridley is included in the red list of IUCN categorized as “critically endangered”. The most important site around the Word is in Rancho Nuevo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Where 80–95% of the world’s nesting is concentrated. Other nesting areas are Tepeguajes and Barra del Tordo, in Tamaulipas, and with less intensity in Veracruz (Lechuguillas and El Raudal beaches) and South Padre Island, Texas, USA. They deposit an average of about 90 eggs and hatching takes 40 to 60 days. Therefore, they are vulnerable to different anthropogenic activities and sources of pollution, such as heavy metals, which can cause toxic effects that are harmful to the turtles, damage their physiology and health. To understand the real situation about health and genetic parameters it is necessary to analyze biochemical and molecular factors in this species.

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Comparison of 2 glucose analytical methodologies in immature Kemp’s ridley sea turtles: dry chemistry of plasma versus point-of-care glucometer analysis of whole blood

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation ◽

10.1177/10406387211001830 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 104063872110018

Author(s):

Justin R. Perrault ◽

Michael D. Arendt ◽

Jeffrey A. Schwenter ◽

Julia L. Byrd ◽

Kathryn A. Tuxbury ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Whole Blood ◽

Point Of Care ◽

Sea Turtles ◽

Sample Volume ◽

Specific Reference ◽

Volume Data ◽

Analytical Methodology ◽

Glucose Determination ◽

Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles ◽

Kemp's Ridley

Blood glucose measurements provide important diagnostic information regarding stress, disease, and nutritional status. Glucose analytical methodologies include dry chemistry analysis (DCA) of plasma and point-of-care (POC) glucometer analysis of whole blood; however, these 2 methods differ in cost, required sample volume, and processing time. Because POC glucometers use built-in equations based on features of mammalian blood to convert whole blood measurements to plasma equivalent units, obtained glucose data must be compared and validated using gold-standard chemistry analytical methodology in reptiles. For in-water, trawl-captured, immature Kemp’s ridley sea turtles ( Lepidochelys kempii) from Georgia, USA, we observed significant, positive agreement between the 2 glucose determination methods; however, the glucometer overestimated glucose concentrations by 1.4 mmol/L on average in comparison to DCA and produced a wider range of results. The discordance of these results suggests that POC glucometer glucose data should be interpreted in the context of methodology- and brand-specific reference intervals along with concurrent packed cell volume data.

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