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This paper reports a case of Purpureocillium lilacinum infection in seven loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) hatchlings kept in an aquarium under inadequate condition. The fungus was isolated from skin and pulmonary lesions. Metilene blue and NaCl solutions, Schinus terebinthifolius and eucalyptus essential oils Minimum Inhibitory Concentrations were determined indicating new possibilities for treatment.

Green sea turtles ( Chelonia mydas ) with cutaneous fibropapillomatosis (FP) occur in some populations worldwide, and the survivability of these individuals may be compromised depending on the disease severity score. Furthermore, populations may be negatively affected in areas with a high prevalence of the disease. The stress responses (corticosterone, glucose, lactate, and hematocrit) to capture and handling were assessed in animals with different FP severity scores. From 18 January 2013 to 31 July 2014, 33 juvenile (sex was not determined) C. mydas were collected from the effluent of a steel mill in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil, by casting a net from the bank of a canal in the morning. The body conditions of animals with FP scores of FP2 and FP3 were poor, which suggests that these turtles were unable to adequately feed themselves, and animals with an FP score of FP3 exhibited an impaired corticosterone response. This may compromise the fitness of animals in populations with a high incidence of advanced-stage FP.

Crocodilians are considered as good indicators of ecosystem health since environmental conditions will influence them at individual (body condition and health parameters) and populational levels (population dynamics and behavior). Despite that, there are few attempts to use crocodilians as bioindicators and the lack of baseline health parameters is an impediment to this. Here, hematological and biochemical reference values for free-ranging Caiman latirostris (broad-snouted caiman) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, one of the most threatened biomes in the world, are proposed. Young caiman are more sensitive to environmental variations, besides being more abundant and more easily captured, when compared to adults, which facilitates their use as bioindicators. Furthermore, problems that affect young caimans may represent future population problems. The data obtained is an important tool in assessing the health of free-living populations, contributing to the use of C. latirostris as a bioindicator of health in the Atlantic Forest aquatic ecosystem.

Resumo: Este trabalho apresenta valores hematológicos e bioquímicos de pinguins-de-Magalhães (Spheniscus magellanicus) juvenis que arribaram no Espírito Santo e Rio de Janeiro, litoral sudeste do Brasil, e foram encaminhados a reabilitação. Os valores médios obtidos foram: eritrócitos 2.55±0.54 milhões/μL; hemoglobina 13,37±3,91g/dL; hematócrito 41,5±0,04%; proteína plasmática 6,34±0,81g/dL; leucócitos 16.301±6.402/μL; trombócitos 20.516±4.591 células/μL; volume corpuscular médio (VCM) 172,0±53,0 fL; concentração de hemoglobina corpuscular média (CHCM) 26,41±0,02%; alanina transaminase (ALT) 50,0±17,89 U/L; ácido úrico 8,93±3,0mg/dL; albumina 1,68±0,53g/dL; cálcio 9,7±0,57mg/dL; fósforo 10,39±8,5mg/dL e glicose 211,6±30,3mg/dL. Valores de eritrócitos, VCM e CHCM foram discrepantes em relação aos valores de referência atuais. Valores de leucócitos e trombócitos tem significado inconclusivo. Hematócrito, hemoglobina, proteína plasmática e valores bioquímicos forneceram importante contribuição para o estabelecimento de parâmetros de referência.

Crocodilians are a taxonomic group of large predators with important ecological and evolutionary benefits for ecosystem functioning in the face of global change. Anthropogenic actions affect negatively crocodilians’ survival and more than half of the species are threatened with extinction worldwide. Here, we map and explore three dimensions of crocodilian diversity on a global scale. To highlight the ecological importance of crocodilians, we correlate the spatial distribution of species with the ecosystem services of nutrient retention in the world. We calculate the effectiveness of global protected networks in safeguarding crocodilian species and provide three prioritization models for conservation planning. Our results show the main hotspots of ecological and evolutionary values are in southern North, Central and South America, west-central Africa, northeastern India, and southeastern Asia. African species have the highest correlation to nutrient retention patterns. Twenty-five percent of the world’s crocodilian species are not significantly represented in the existing protected area networks. The most alarming cases are reported in northeastern India, eastern China, and west-central Africa, which include threatened species with low or non-significant representation in the protected area networks. Our highest conservation prioritization model targets southern North America, east-central Central America, northern South America, west-central Africa, northeastern India, eastern China, southern Laos, Cambodia, and some points in southeastern Asia. Our research provides a global prioritization scheme to protect multiple dimensions of crocodilian diversity for achieving effective conservation outcomes.

Background Knowledge of mammalian inflammatory responses is vast; however, many aspects of the inflammatory response in non‐mammalian vertebrates, such as reptiles, remain unclear, including those regarding acute‐phase proteins (APPs). Recent studies have focused on the use of serum protein electrophoresis (SPE) to assess inflammatory responses in the broad‐snouted caiman (Caiman latirostris) and other reptiles. Objectives The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of sex, body length, and different habitats on SPE patterns in C latirostris using sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE). Methods A total of 40 animals of both sexes and varying body lengths were collected; of these, 23 were free‐living in an industrial complex (site 1), and 17 were captive on a rural property (site 2). Sodium dodecyl sulfate‐polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was performed to fractionate different serum protein constituents. Results Sex affected protein levels, with females showing higher serum levels of total protein, as well as the 90‐, 66‐, and 58‐kDa proteins compared with males. Similarly, body length affected protein levels, with male adults >1.70 m in length showing the lowest serum levels of 152‐, 58‐, 54‐, and 27‐kDa proteins of all other animals. Finally, habitat affected protein levels, with animals at site 1 showing higher serum levels of 152‐ and 41‐kDa proteins compared with those at site 2. Conclusions This preliminary study was the first to evaluate the SPE of C latirostris using SDS‐PAGE. Further studies to identify the proteins in each band with more specific and sensitive techniques (eg, mass spectrometry) should be conducted to elucidate the standard of APPs in reptiles better.

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