TP12A Assessment in Tropical Ecosystems
B113 & B114
1:20 PM - 4:40 PM, Tuesday
() Investigation of the association of local environmental factors and the incidence of fibropapillomatosis in green sea turtles.
Downs, C1, Fauth, J2, Ehrhart, L2, Reece, J2, 1 EnVirtue Biotechnologies, Inc., Winchester, Virginia, U.S.A.2 University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, U.S.A.
ABSTRACT- A cellular-diagnostic approach is employed to determine if there is a mechanistic link between the presence of specific or compound environmental contaminants with increased prevalence of fibropapillomatosis. Cellular Diagnostics (CD) is a method used to measure changes in cellular parameters (biomarkers) that reflect critical components in key metabolic processes, allowing for (1) an assessment of cellular-physiological condition of an individual or population, (2) identification of putative stressors, either by direct measurement of the stressor of by profiling stressor-specific effects, and (3) forecasting higher-order (i.e., gross phyiology, population dynamics) behavior based on an understanding of cellular-level processes We compared CDS parameters among three populations of green turtles with differing incidence of FP if there is a correlation with specific CD parameters, disease prevalence, and environmental contaminantion. We also are comparing CDS parameters of green turtles in Indian River Lagoon with different FP histories (no visible FP; visible FP; recaptured turtles that had and lost FP) to identify potential mechanisms of disease resistance/susceptibility. Finally, we will conduct turtle blood cell culture toxicology studies with contaminants relevant to field sites to determine cellular diagnostic profiles. Concentration range of the in vitro exposure will be based on concentrations found in turtle blood at these sites. We will also sample turtles from relatively un-impacted sites in Bermuda (Atlantic Ocean) and Oman in the Indian Ocean as references. Our goal is to identify environmentally-mediated mechanisms of FP susceptibility and resistance in green turtles, thereby reducing the threat this herpes virus poses to marine turtles. Our study will yield insight into how environmental degradation affects susceptibility to viral disease in a long-lived, mobile vertebrate.
Key words: ecotoxicology, Sea turtle, cellular diagnostics