The impact of a range of different threats has resulted in the listing of six out of seven sea turtle species on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. Disease risk analysis (DRA) tools are designed to provide objective, repeatable and documented assessment of the disease risks for a population and measures to reduce these risks through management options. To the best of our knowledge, DRAs have not previously been published for sea turtles, although disease is reported to contribute to sea turtle population decline. Here, a comprehensive list of health hazards is provided for all seven species of sea turtles. The possible risk these hazards pose to the health of sea turtles were assessed and “One Health” aspects of interacting with sea turtles were also investigated. The risk assessment was undertaken in collaboration with more than 30 experts in the field including veterinarians, microbiologists, social scientists, epidemiologists and stakeholders, in the form of two international workshops and one local workshop. The general finding of the DRA was the distinct lack of knowledge regarding a link between the presence of pathogens and diseases manifestation in sea turtles. A higher rate of disease in immunocompromised individuals was repeatedly reported and a possible link between immunosuppression and environmental contaminants as a result of anthropogenic influences was suggested. Society based conservation initiatives and as a result the cultural and social aspect of interacting with sea turtles appeared to need more attention and research. A risk management workshop was carried out to acquire the insights of local policy makers about management options for the risks relevant to Queensland and the options were evaluated considering their feasibility and effectiveness. The sea turtle DRA presented here, is a structured guide for future risk assessments to be used in specific scenarios such as translocation and head-starting programs.

The ingestion of plastic by marine turtles is now reported for all species. Small juvenile turtles (including post-hatchling and oceanic juveniles) are thought to be most at risk, due to feeding preferences and overlap with areas of high plastic abundance. Their remote and dispersed life stage, however, results in limited access and assessments. Here, stranded and bycaught specimens from Queensland Australia, Pacific Ocean (PO; n = 65; 1993–2019) and Western Australia, Indian Ocean (IO; n = 56; 2015–2019) provide a unique opportunity to assess the extent of plastic (> 1mm) ingestion in five species [green (Chelonia mydas), loggerhead (Caretta caretta), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata), olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), and flatback turtles (Natator depressus)]. In the Pacific Ocean, high incidence of ingestion occurred in green (83%; n = 36), loggerhead (86%; n = 7), flatback (80%; n = 10) and olive ridley turtles (29%; n = 7). There was an overall lower incidence in IO; highest being in the flatback (28%; n = 18), the loggerhead (21%; n = 14) and green (9%; n = 22). No macroplastic debris ingestion was documented for hawksbill turtles in either site although sample sizes were smaller for this species (PO n = 5; IO n = 2). In the Pacific Ocean, the majority of ingested debris was made up of hard fragments (mean of all species 52%; species averages 46–97%), whereas for the Indian Ocean these were filamentous plastics (52%; 43–77%). The most abundant colour for both sites across all species was clear (PO: 36%; IO: 39%), followed by white for PO (36%) then green and blue for IO (16%; 16%). The polymers most commonly ingested by turtles in both oceans were polyethylene (PE; PO-58%; IO-39%) and polypropylene (PP; PO-20.2%; IO-23.5%). We frame the high occurrence of ingested plastic present in this marine turtle life stage as a potential evolutionary trap as they undertake their development in what are now some of the most polluted areas of the global oceans.

49The impact of a range of different threats has resulted in the listing of six out of seven sea turtle 50 species on the IUCN Red List of endangered species. Disease risk analysis (DRA) tools are designed to 51 provide objective, repeatable and documented assessment of the disease risks for a population and 52 measures to reduce these risks through management options. To the best of our knowledge, DRAs 53 have not previously been published for sea turtles, although disease is reported to contribute to sea 54 turtle population decline. Here, a comprehensive list of health hazards is provided for all seven 55 species of sea turtles. The possible risk these hazards pose to the health of sea turtles were assessed 56 and "One Health" aspects of interacting with sea turtles were also investigated. The risk assessment 57 was undertaken in collaboration with more than 30 experts in the field including veterinarians, 58 microbiologists, social scientists, epidemiologists and stakeholders, in the form of two international 59 workshops and one local workshop. The general finding of the DRA was the distinct lack of 60 knowledge regarding a link between the presence of pathogens and diseases manifestation in sea 61 turtles. A higher rate of disease in immunocompromised individuals was repeatedly reported and a 62 possible link between immunosuppression and environmental contaminants as a result of 63 anthropogenic influences was suggested. Society based conservation initiatives and as a result the 64 cultural and social aspect of interacting with sea turtles appeared to need more attention and 65 research. A risk management workshop was carried out to acquire the insights of local policy makers 66 about management options for the risks relevant to Queensland and the options were evaluated 67 considering their feasibility and effectiveness. The sea turtle DRA presented here, is a structured 68 guide for future risk assessments to be used in specific scenarios such as translocation and head-69 starting programs. 70 71 72 73 3 74 101 Species Survival Commission in 2014. The manual addresses different scenarios for endangered 102 species and translocating them for conservation purposes and enables the pros and cons of these 103actions to be thoroughly investigated (11). In order to accommodate the unique biology of sea 104 turtles, the DRA process as described in this manual requires certain modifications to realistically 105 articulate with situations such as translocating animals or investigating the risks of disease for a 106 population in its normal habitat. A 2015 study describes a systematic approach to investigate 107 disease-related population decline without confining the assessment to a particular scenario or 108 location (6). This method is a modified version of a DRA based on epidemiological principles (6) for 109 any declining wildlife population. A successful DRA considers the study population in the context of 110 the environment. 111In the 1960's, Calvin Schwabe coined the term "One Medicine" which then extended ...

Streptococcus iniae causes high mortality in cultured and wild fish stocks globally. Since the first report in captive Amazon river dolphins Inia geoffrensis in 1976, it has emerged in finfish across all continents except Antarctica. In March 2016, an estimated 17000 fish were observed dead and dying along a remote 70 km stretch of the Kimberley coastline north of Broome, Western Australia. Affected species included finfish (lionfish Pterois volitans, angelfish Pomacanthus sp., stripey snapper Lutjanus carponotatus, sand bass Psammoperca waigiensis, yellowtail grunter Amniataba caudavittata, damselfish Pomacentridae sp.), flatback sea turtles Natator depressus, and olive (Aipysurus laevis) and black-ringed (Hydrelaps darwiniensis) sea snakes. Moribund fish collected during the event exhibited exophthalmia and abnormal behaviour, such as spiralling on the surface or within the water column. Subsequent histopathological examination of 2 fish species revealed bacterial septicaemia with chains of Gram-positive cocci seen in multiple organs and within brain tissue. S. iniae was isolated and identified by bacterial culture, species-specific PCR, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionisation Time-Of-Flight (MALDI-TOF) and biochemical testing. This is the first report of S. iniae associated with a major multi-species wild marine fish kill in Australia. Extreme weather events in the region including a marked decrease in water temperatures, followed by an extended period of above-average coastal water temperatures, were implicated as stressors potentially contributing to this outbreak.

Sea kraits forage in water and return to land to digest their prey, mate, slough, and lay their eggs.  The temporal terrestrial patterns in encounter rate and behaviour of two species of sea kraits Laticauda colubrina and L. laticaudata were studied over four years at the New Wandoor beach in the southern Andaman Islands.  The encounter rate of L. colubrina was found to be 20 times higher than L. laticaudata, and sea kraits were observed to prefer the natural refuge that the microhabitat of uprooted trees provide.  Additionally, nesting observations are presented that emphasize the need to promote the conservation of these crucial terrestrial habitats.