Search results for "turtle"
showing 10 items of 88 documents
Exotic Meats: An Alternative Food Source
2019
International audience; Exotic meats were a protein source for human diet for many years. However, the massive capture caused the overexploitation and placed many reptiles and amphibious on the verge of extinction. Therefore, the captive rearing, the control during slaughtering and processing has been proposed as an alternative to the capture of wild animals. The present chapter shows the nutritional composition of this kind of meat, characterized by low levels of fat, high contents of protein, essential amino acids, fatty acids (especially long-chain n-3) and minerals indicating that their consumption may be beneficial for human health. However, very little data is available on the nutriti…
Biology and conservation of marine turtle nesting in the Dominican Republic
2014
The loss of biodiversity has become one of the most pressing issues, which has lead to a growing global concern about the status of the biological resources on which human life depends. In recent decades there has been a decrease in individual populations of many species. In the Caribbean, marine turtle’s nesting rookeries have been reduced considerably, mainly due to human exploitation. A number of rookeries in this region have been studied for several decades and their status is well documented; however, many other Caribbean rookeries remain poorly described. The Dominican Republic (DR) is an area where information on marine turtle nesting activity is scarce and outdated. Surveys in the 1…
Antibiotic Resistance of Gram Negatives isolates from loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) in the central Mediterranean Sea
2009
Previous studies on fish and marine mammals support the hypothesis that marine species harbor antibiotic resistance and therefore may serve as reservoirs for anti biotic-resistance genetic determinants. The aim of this study was to assess the resistance to antimicrobial agents of Gram negative strains isolated from loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). Oral and cloacal swabs from 19 live-stranded loggerhead sea turtles, with hooks fixed into the gut, were analyzed. The antimicrobial resistance of the isolates to 31 antibiotics was assessed using the disk-diffusion method. Conventional biochemical tests identified Citrobacter spp., Proteus spp., Enterobacter spp., Escherichia spp., Provi…
Unveiling the egg microbiota of the loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta in nesting beaches of the Mediterranean Sea
2022
Microbes have central roles in the development and health of animals, being the introduction of specific microbial species a potential conservation strategy to protect animals from emerging diseases. Thus, insight into the microbiota of the species and their habitats is essential. In this manuscript, we report for the first time the bacterial composition of all the components (eggshells of hatched and unhatched eggs, internal content of unhatched eggs, intestinal content of hatchling and pipping sea turtles, and sand) of three nesting beaches of Caretta caretta along the Italian coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. The analysis of 26 amplicon samples was carried out using next-generation sequen…
Preparation and Application of an Innovative Thrombocyte/Leukocyte-Enriched Plasma to Promote Tissue Repair in Chelonians
2015
Platelet concentrates are widely used in mammalian regenerative medicine to improve tissue healing. Chelonians (Testudines) would benefit from the application of thrombocyte preparations to regenerate damaged tissues, since traumatic injuries are leading causes of morbidity and mortality for both wild-living and domesticated animals. The aim of this study was to establish a protocol that optimized the recovery of the thrombocytes from blood samples and to show the efficacy of thrombocyte-enriched plasma in chelonians. Peripheral blood samples were obtained from Testudo spp. (n = 12) and Trachemys scripta elegans (n = 10). Blood cells were fractionated by sodium diatrizoate-sodium polysucros…
Exceptional sea turtle nest records in 2011 suggest an underestimated nesting potential in Sicily (Italy)
2012
We report seven nesting events by loggerhead sea turtles in Sicily (Italy) in 2011. In comparison to past records, this number is relatively high and may be at least in part due to an awareness campaign carried out in 2011 to solicit such reports. This suggests that Sicily may host a much higher nesting activity than previously thought and higher monitoring effort is recommended, especially in certain coastal tracts. Sand temperatures and incubation periods indicate that the beaches monitored so far in the southern coast are not optimal for development, resulting in low hatching success, and produce a majority of males. Five 2011 nests and two past nests from the same area had mtDNA haploty…
First report of the scavenging isopod Natatolana neglecta (Crustacea: Isopoda: Cirolanidae) feeding on a sea turtle
2019
A juvenile male loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) was found dead in April 2015, entangled in a trammel net on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Post-mortem examination revealed the presence of ninety-five isopods dispersed in the coelomic cavity, and inside the oesophagus and skull. All individuals found scavenging on the sea turtle were identified as Natatolana neglecta (Hansen, 1890) (Isopoda: Cirolanidae). Genetic analysis of the isopod gut contents showed that they were feeding on turtle tissue, confirming that N. neglecta can also attack dead sea turtles. This study shows the value of cirolanids as potential indicators of the cause of death in stranded sea turtles.
Nuevo registro y caracterización molecular de la tortuga verde Chelonia mydas (Testudines, Cheloniidae) en las aguas costeras sicilianas
2017
A juvenile specimen of the Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, was recovered in Sicilian coastal waters close to Avola (Syracuse province, south-eastern Sicily, Italy). Before being released, the specimen was measured and inspected for the presence of ingested hooks or other possible harms to its health. A fragment of the mtDNA marker COI was amplified and sequenced in order to provide the first molecular data for the species from the central Mediterranean area. The possible influence of climate change on the occurrence of this thermophilic species in the central Mediterranean area is briefly discussed.
A new record and molecular characterization of the Green Turtle Chelonia mydas (Testudines, Cheloniidae) in Sicilian coastal waters
2017
A juvenile specimen of the Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, was recovered in Sicilian coastal waters close to Avola (Syracuse province, south-eastern Sicily, Italy). Before being released, the specimen was measured and inspected for the presence of ingested hooks or other possible harms to its health. A fragment of the mtDNA marker COI was amplified and sequenced in order to provide the first molecular data for the species from the central Mediterranean area. The possible influence of climate change on the occurrence of this thermophilic species in the central Mediterranean area is briefly discussed.
Assessing the efficacy of direct conservation interventions: clutch protection of the leatherback marine turtle in the Dominican Republic
2014
AbstractThe beaches of Jaragua National Park in the Dominican Republic are the country's last known major nesting site for the leatherback marine turtle Dermochelys coriacea. This nesting aggregation is threatened by widespread illegal egg take, and clutch relocation and artificial incubation have been carried out as protection measures since 1974. We assess the efficacy of such efforts and investigate how artificial incubation may be influencing the success and sex ratios of clutches. We compare hatching success, incubation duration and embryo mortality in in-situ clutches (n = 43) with those incubated artificially at sites in the east and west of the Park (n = 35 and n = 31, respectively)…