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...

Coralline algae are important reef-builders which can form nodules, known as rhodoliths, occurring worldwide in beds sustaining a high biodiversity. Although considered a non-renewable resource, they are exploited as a source of calcium carbonate used mainly for agricultural purposes. In Brazil between 96,000 and 120,000 metric tonnes of rhodoliths are extracted per year. Besides the direct impact caused by removal on the coralline bed, the dredge process may also produce a plume of fine sediment, which can change the primary production of the remaining organisms. In this study, four treatments, with three replicates, were used to acquire Lithothamnion sp. net photosynthetic rates with and without a sediment layer using a Clark-type oxygen microelectrode and micromanipulator. The results demonstrated that, under controlled conditions, the addition of a thin sediment layer resulted in a 30% reduction of the irradiance, decreasing the Lithothamnion sp. net production in 70%. For this reason direct and indirect effects of mechanical exploitation of the rhodolith beds should be included in future studies that focus on environmental impacts of dredging activity, whether it is linked to the extraction of these algae.

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Nongeniculate Corallinaceae are poorly known in Brazil. In our endeavor to identify this group of seaweeds along the Brazilian coast we came across some specimens that fit well into the accepted circumscription of Litothamnion Heydrich. Within this genus they could be identified to what has been called L. superpositum Foslie. The specimens were represented by nongeniculate, free living specimens (rhodoliths); lumpy to fruticose growth-form, presenting flared epithallial cells in transversal section; multiporate tetrasporangial conceptacles, with roof protruding above or flush with the surrounding thallus surface; chambers 250-525 mm in diameter and 150-230 mm high, roof structured by filaments with 3-5 cells long; and pores in depression. Among the species described from the Brazilian coast, L. heteromorphum (Foslie) Foslie presented anatomical and reproductive characteristics similar to the referred species described from southern Africa and Australia. Therefore, we propose to consider L. heteromorphum as a heterotypic synonym of L. superpositum and extending its distribution to the Western Atlantic.