We documented the presence of fibropapillomatosis (FP), a debilitating tumor-forming disease, in marine turtles in Espírito Santo Bay (Brazil) from March 2007 to April 2008, and assessed the value of a specific environmental index for predicting the prevalence of FP. Turtles were captured monthly with entanglement nets and scored for presence and severity of FP. For the assessment of habitat quality, we used the ecological evaluation index (EEI) based on benthic macrophytes. The FPfree control area was classified as good quality (EEI = 8) and the study area, with high FP prevalence, was classified as bad quality (EEI = 2). Prevalence of FP in the study area was 58.3% with an average of 40 tumors per individual, and prevalence varied positively with curved carapace length (CCL). No FP was seen in the control area. The number of turtles heavily afflicted (tumor score category 3) was 10 times larger than those lightly affected (tumor score category 1). Most tumors were found on or near the front and rear flippers; no oral tumors or internal tumors were found. At recapture, 41% of formerly tumor-free turtles revealed FP, often increasing in severity with time, and very few turtles showed signs of disease regression. From the results of this study we concluded that FP is particularly severe in Espírito Santo Bay. Future studies should focus on evaluating how widespread FP is in Brazil, whether prevalence is increasing or decreasing, and elucidating the pathology and pathogenesis of FP in sea turtles in Brazil. KEY WORDS: Fibropapillomatosis · Environmental quality · Chelonia mydas · Green turtle · Ecological index · BrazilResale or republication not permitted without written consent of the publisher Dis Aquat Org 89: [87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95] 2010 Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) (Seminoff 2004). In addition to anthropogenic threats, diseases such as fibropapillomatosis (FP) may pose additional threats to Chelonia mydas (Herbst 1994, Aguirre et al. 1998.FP is a debilitating disease affecting marine turtles that can impair foraging and internal organ function; it is characterized by the development of tumors on the eyes, oral cavity, skin, carapace, plastron or internal organs (Balazs 1991, Jacobson et al. 1991, Herbst 1994, Aguirre et al. 2002, Work et al. 2004, Foley et al. 2005. The disease mainly affects green turtles (Herbst 1994, Aguirre et al. 1998, 2002, but it has also been documented in other species (George 1997). FP is associated with a herpesvirus (Herbst 1994, Quackenbush et al. 1998, but the role of this agent in causing disease has not been clarified, and it appears other, as yet unidentified, factors probably play a role. It is known that turtles afflicted with FP have higher parasite loads (Work et al. 2005), are immunosuppressed (Work et al. 2001) and bacteraemic (Work et al. 2003).Considerable geographical variation in the prevalence of FP exists (0 to 92%), and substantial differences may be found even between relatively close areas (Ehrhart 1991, Herbst...

This study, carried out from August 2000 to July 2006, began out of the recognition of a special ecological situation, when an aggregation of juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas) was found inside the effluent discharge channel of a steel plant located near Vitória, the State of Espírito Santo capital, eastern Brazil. The green turtles were captured through either cast nets or a set net or by hand (one turtle was captured alive on one of the channel banks); after data collection, they were released back into the discharge channel. Information is here reported on the temporal pattern of occurrence, size-classes, residency, presence of tumours and growth rates of tumoured and non-tumoured green turtles in the study area. A total of 640 individual green turtles were captured in the six years; 448 of them were captured just once, and 192 were captured two or more times. Curved carapace length ranged between 25.2 and 77.5 cm. Among the captured green turtles, 59.1% were classified as being in normal body condition and without any tumours, 6.6% were either underweight or emaciated but without any tumours, and 34.4% had tumours, with different levels of the tumour severity score.

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The present work describes and analyses the structure of the macrobenthic epi- and infaunal assemblage of the estuarine system of Vitória Bay, South-eastern Brazil, from January 1998 to June 1999. Replicated sampling at intertidal and subtidal levels was conducted quarterly at ten stations. Intertidal and subtidal sediment composition was characterised. Water physico-chemical parameters were measured in situ. A total of 10,695 individuals, belonging to 144 taxa, were collected. Molluscs, crustaceans and polychaetes were the most abundant groups. The bivalves Anomalocardia brasiliana, Mytella guyanensis and M. falcata were the most abundant species. Locally, significant discharges of residential and industrial wastewater resulted in high organic content in the sediment (up to 30%) and low dissolved oxygen concentration in the water (< 1mg.l-1). Near the two entrances of the bay, high hydrodynamic activity and coarse sand reduced the detrimental effects of raw and treated sewage inputs. Species richness (S), diversity (H') and total abundance (A) decreased from outer-bay stations (22 < S < 72; 1.99 < H' < 2.85; 320 < A < 1737) towards inner-bay stations (2 < S < 45; 0.59 < H' < 2.67; 2 < A < 1317), where salinity and dissolved oxygen were lowest and organic matter content highest.
O presente trabalho analisa e descreve a estrutura das associações faunísticas macrobênticas (epifauna e infauna) do sistema estuarino da Baía de Vitória, sudeste do Brasil, de Janeiro de 1998 a Junho de 1999. Amostras replicadas em níveis de entre-marés e sublitoral foram coletadas em intervalos de três meses em dez estações. Foram caracterizadas as composições dos sedimentos de entre-marés e sublitoral. Os parâmetros físico-químicos da água foram medidos in situ. Foram coletados 10.695 indivíduos, compreendendo a 144 taxa. Os grupos mais abundantes foram moluscos, crustáceos e poliquetos. As espécies mais abundantes foram os bivalves Anomalocardia brasiliana, Mytella guyanensis e M. falcata. Localmente, descargas significativas de esgoto doméstico causaram um aumento da quantidade de matéria orgânica no sedimento (até 30%) e baixa concentração de oxigênio dissolvido na água (< 1mg.l-1). Próximo às duas entradas da baía, o alto hidrodinamismo e a presença de areia grossa reduziram os efeitos deletérios dos aportes de esgotos. A riqueza (S), a diversidade (H') de espécies e a abundância total (A), decresceram das estações externas do estuário (22 < S < 72; 1.99 < H' < 2.85; 320 < A < 1737) em direção às estações internas (2 < S < 45; 0.59 < H' < 2.67; 2 < A < 1317), onde a salinidade e oxigênio dissolvido foram menores e as quantidades de matéria orgânica maiores