For Publishers
DiscoveryMetadataPeer reviewHostingPublishing
For Researchers
JoinPublishReviewCollect
Register
Blog
About
Search
Advanced search
My ScienceOpen
Search
For Publishers
For Researchers
Blog
About
40
views
27
references
 Top references
cited by
19
    
0 reviews
 Review
0
comments
 Comment
0
recommends
+1 Recommend
0 collections
    0
    shares
      128
      similar
       All similar
      • Record: found
      • Abstract: found
      • Article: found
      Is Open Access

      Causes of Stranding and Mortality, and Final Disposition of Loggerhead Sea Turtles ( Caretta caretta) Admitted to a Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Gran Canaria Island, Spain (1998-2014): A Long-Term Retrospective Study

      research-article

      Read this article at

      ScienceOpenPublisherPMC
      Bookmark
          There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

          Abstract

          Aims

          The aims of this study were to analyze the causes of stranding of 1,860 loggerhead turtles ( Caretta caretta) admitted at the Tafira Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Gran Canaria Island, Spain, from 1998 to 2014, and to analyze the outcomes of the rehabilitation process to allow meaningful auditing of its quality.

          Methods

          Primary causes of morbidity were classified into seven categories: entanglement in fishing gear and/or plastics, ingestion of hooks and monofilament lines, trauma, infectious disease, crude oil, other causes, and unknown/undetermined. Final dispositions were calculated as euthanasia (E r), unassisted mortality (M r), and release (R r) rates. Time to death (T d) for euthanized and dead turtles, and length of stay for released (T r) turtles were evaluated.

          Results

          The most frequent causes of morbidity were entanglement in fishing gear and/or plastics (50.81%), unknown/undetermined (20.37%), and ingestion of hooks (11.88%). The final disposition of the 1,634 loggerhead turtles admitted alive were: E r = 3.37%, M r = 10.34%, and R r = 86.29%. E r was significantly higher in the trauma category (18.67%) compared to the other causes of admission. The highest M r was observed for turtles admitted due to trauma (30.67%). The highest R r was observed in the crude oil (93.87%) and entanglement (92.38%) categories. The median T r ranged from 12 days (unknown) to 70 days (trauma).

          Conclusions

          This survey is the first large-scale epidemiological study on causes of stranding and mortality of Eastern Atlantic loggerheads and demonstrates that at least 71.72% of turtles stranded due to anthropogenic causes. The high R r (86.29%) emphasizes the importance of marine rehabilitation centers for conservation purposes. The stratified analysis by causes of admission of the three final disposition rates, and the parameters T d and T r should be included in the outcome research of the rehabilitation process of sea turtles in order to allow comparative studies between marine rehabilitation centers around the world.

          Related collections

          Most cited references27

          • Record: found
          • Abstract: found
          • Article: not found

          Diseases and causes of mortality among sea turtles stranded in the Canary Islands, Spain (1998-2001).

          J Orós, A Torrent, P Calabuig … (2005)
          This paper lists the pathological findings and causes of mortality of 93 sea turtles (88 Caretta caretta, 3 Chelonia mydas, and 2 Dermochelys coriacea) stranded on the coasts of the Canary Islands between January 1998 and December 2001. Of these, 25 (26.88%) had died of spontaneous diseases including different types of pneumonia, hepatitis, meningitis, septicemic processes and neoplasm. However, 65 turtles (69.89%) had died from lesions associated with human activities such as boat-strike injuries (23.66%), entanglement in derelict fishing nets (24.73%), ingestion of hooks and monofilament lines (19.35%), and crude oil ingestion (2.15%). Traumatic ulcerative skin lesions were the most common gross lesions, occurring in 39.78% of turtles examined, and being associated with Aeromonas hydrophila, Vibrio alginolyticus and Staphylococcus spp. infections. Pulmonary edema (15.05%), granulomatous pneumonia (12.90%) and exudative bronchopneumonia (7.53%) were the most frequently detected respiratory lesions. Different histological types of nephritis included chronic interstitial nephritis, granulomatous nephritis and perinephric abscesses, affecting 13 turtles (13.98%). Ulcerative and fibrinous esophagitis and traumatic esophageal perforation were the most frequently observed lesions in the esophagus, being associated in the majority of the cases with ingestion of fishing hooks. Larval nematodes of the Anisakidae family caused gastritis in 15 turtles (16.13%). Necrotizing and/or granulomatous hepatitis were the lesions most commonly observed in the liver (27.95%). Traumatic lesions included necrotizing myositis (10.75%) mainly caused by entanglement in fishing nets or boat-strikes, and amputation of 1 or 2 flippers (25.81%) by netting. Traumatic erosions and/or fractures of the carapace/plastron mainly caused by boat-strikes were also observed (26.88%). Eye lesions included heterophilic keratoconjunctivitis, ulcerative keratitis and heterophilic scleritis, affecting 7 turtles (7.53%).
          Article 0 comments Cited 53 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
            Bookmark
            • Record: found
            • Abstract: found
            • Article: not found

            Fibropapillomatosis in stranded green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from the eastern United States (1980-98): trends and associations with environmental factors.

            A. Foley, Anthony E Redlow, Wendy Teas … (2004)
            We examined data collected by the US Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network on 4,328 green turtles (Chelonia mydas) found dead or debilitated (i.e., stranded) in the eastern half of the USA from Massachusetts to Texas during the period extending from 1980 to 1998. Fibropapillomatosis (FP) was reported only on green turtles in the southern half of Florida (south of 29 degrees N latitude). Within this region, 22.6% (682/3,016) of the turtles had tumors. Fibropapillomatosis was more prevalent in turtles found along the western (Gulf) coast of Florida (51.9%) than in turtles found along the eastern (Atlantic) coast of Florida (11.9%) and was more prevalent in turtles found in inshore areas (38.9%) than in turtles found in offshore areas (14.6%). A high prevalence of FP corresponded to coastal waters characterized by habitat degradation and pollution, a large extent of shallow-water area, and low wave energy, supporting speculation that one or more of these factors could serve as an environmental cofactor in the expression of FP. A high prevalence of FP did not correspond to high-density green turtle assemblages. Turtles with tumors were found most commonly during the fall and winter months, and the occurrence of tumors was most common in turtles of intermediate size (40-70-cm curved carapace length). Stranded green turtles with tumors were more likely to be emaciated or entangled in fishing line and less likely to have propeller wounds than were stranded green turtles without tumors. Turtles with and without tumors were equally likely to show evidence of a shark attack. The percent occurrence of tumors in stranded green turtles increased from approximately 10% in the early 1980s to over 30% in the late 1990s. Fibropapillomatosis was first documented in southernmost Florida in the late 1930s and spread throughout the southern half of Florida and the Caribbean during the mid-1980s. Because green turtles living in south Florida are known to move throughout much of the Caribbean, but are not known to move to other parts of the USA or to Bermuda, the spread and current distribution of FP in the western Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean can be explained by assuming FP is caused by an infectious agent that first appeared in southern Florida. Aberrant movements of captive-reared turtles or of turtles that are released into areas where they were not originally found could spread FP beyond its current distribution.
            Article 0 comments Cited 42 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
              Bookmark
              • Record: found
              • Abstract: found
              • Article: not found

              Retrospective pathology survey of green turtles Chelonia mydas with fibropapillomatosis in the Hawaiian Islands, 1993--2003.

              Robert Rameyer, Lorraine M. Work, Sheldon R. Morris … (2004)
              We necropsied 255 stranded green turtles Chelonia mydas with fibropapillomatosis (FP) from the Hawaiian Islands, North Pacific, from August 1993 through May 2003. Of these, 214 (84 %) were euthanized due to advanced FP and the remainder were found dead in fresh condition. Turtles were assigned a standardized tumor severity score ranging from 1 (lightly tumored) to 3 (heavily tumored). Tumors were counted and measured and categorized as external, oral, or internal and tissues evaluated by light microscopy. Turtles in tumor score 2 and 3 categories predominated, and tumor score 3 turtles were significantly larger than the other 2 categories. More juveniles stranded than subadults or adults. Total cross-sectional area of tumors increased significantly with straight carapace length (SCL). Frequency distribution of total number of external tumors per turtle was significantly skewed to the right, and there were significantly more tumors at the front than rear of turtles. Eighty percent of turtles had oral tumors, and 51% of turtles with oral tumors had tumors in the glottis. Thirty-nine percent of turtles had internal tumors, most of them in the lung, kidney and heart. Fibromas predominated in lung, kidney and musculoskeletal system whereas myxofibromas were more common in intestines and spleen. Fibrosarcomas of low-grade malignancy were most frequent in the heart, and heart tumors had a predilection for the right atrium. Turtles with FP had significant additional complications including inflammation with vascular flukes, bacterial infections, poor body condition, and necrosis of salt gland. Turtles with oral tumors were more likely to have secondary complications such as pneumonia. Most turtles came from the island of Oahu (74%) followed by Maui (20 %), Hawaii, Molokai, and Lanai (<3 % each). On Oahu, significantly more turtles we necropsied stranded along the northwestern and northeastern shores.
              Article 0 comments Cited 39 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
                Bookmark
                All references

                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Carlos E. Ambrósio: Role: Editor
                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): PLoS One
                Journal ID (iso-abbrev): PLoS ONE
                Journal ID (publisher-id): plos
                Journal ID (pmc): plosone
                Title: PLoS ONE
                Publisher: Public Library of Science (San Francisco, CA USA )
                ISSN (Electronic): 1932-6203
                Publication date (Electronic): 22 February 2016
                Publication date Collection: 2016
                Volume: 11
                Issue: 2
                Electronic Location Identifier: e0149398
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Department of Morphology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Arucas (Las Palmas), Spain
                [2 ]Department of Animal Pathology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Arucas (Las Palmas), Spain
                [3 ]Department of Clinical Sciences, Veterinary Faculty, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Arucas (Las Palmas), Spain
                [4 ]Tafira Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Tafira Baja-Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
                Faculty of Animal Sciences and Food Engineering, University of São Paulo, BRAZIL
                Author notes

                Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

                Conceived and designed the experiments: JO PC. Performed the experiments: JO NM MC AA PC. Analyzed the data: JO NM MC AA PC. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: JO AA PC. Wrote the paper: JO NM AA.

                Article
                Publisher ID: PONE-D-15-48284
                DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0149398
                PMC ID: 4763070
                PubMed ID: 26901623
                SO-VID: 08c34a45-5b5d-4658-b904-c5e4565eab3f
                Copyright © © 2016 Orós et al
                License:

                This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

                History
                Date received : 4 November 2015
                Date accepted : 1 February 2016
                Page count
                Figures: 4, Tables: 3, Pages: 14
                Funding
                The authors received no specific funding for this work.
                Categories
                Subject: Research Article
                Subject: Biology and Life Sciences
                Subject: Organisms
                Subject: Animals
                Subject: Vertebrates
                Subject: Reptiles
                Subject: Turtles
                Subject: Engineering and Technology
                Subject: Energy and Power
                Subject: Fuels
                Subject: Fossil Fuels
                Subject: Crude Oil
                Subject: Physical Sciences
                Subject: Materials Science
                Subject: Materials by Attribute
                Subject: Fuels
                Subject: Fossil Fuels
                Subject: Crude Oil
                Subject: Biology and Life Sciences
                Subject: Physiology
                Subject: Physiological Processes
                Subject: Ingestion
                Subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
                Subject: Physiology
                Subject: Physiological Processes
                Subject: Ingestion
                Subject: People and Places
                Subject: Demography
                Subject: Death Rates
                Subject: Biology and Life Sciences
                Subject: Population Biology
                Subject: Population Metrics
                Subject: Death Rates
                Subject: Medicine and Health Sciences
                Subject: Health Care
                Subject: Health Statistics
                Subject: Morbidity
                Subject: Physical Sciences
                Subject: Materials Science
                Subject: Materials by Attribute
                Subject: Plastics
                Subject: People and places
                Subject: Geographical locations
                Subject: Africa
                Subject: Canary Islands
                Subject: Biology and Life Sciences
                Subject: Veterinary Science
                Subject: Veterinary Diseases
                Custom metadata
                Data Availability All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Uncategorized
                Data availability:
                ScienceOpen disciplines: Uncategorized

                Comments

                Comment on this article

                scite_

                Similar content128

                See all similar

                Cited by19

                See all cited by

                Most referenced authors297

                See all reference authors