Adrenomedullary and Glycemic Alterations Following Diverse Stress in Soft-Shelled TurtlesLissemys Punctata PunctataBonnoterre

Abstract

The objective of the current investigation was to study adrenomedullary and glycemic responses to stress in soft-shelled turtles, Lissemys p. punctata. Dehydration (7 days) and formalin (formaldehyde 1%, 0.1 mL/100 g body wt. daily for 7 days) stress-stimulated adrenomedullary activity at histological (by increasing the nuclear diameter and degranulation of chromaffin cells) and hormonal levels (by elevations of norepinephrine and epinephrine concentrations) with hyperglycemia in turtles. But salt loading (NaCl: 1%, 1 mL/100 g body wt. daily for 7 days) had no significant effect on adrenomedullary activity or glycemia presumably owing to the nonresponsiveness of adrenocortical activity to salt stress in turtles. It is suggested that dehydration and formalin stresses might have exerted their actions through the hypothalamo (CRF)-hypophysial (ACTH)-adrenocortical axis in turtles.

Location has a significant effect on body condition and blood parameters in the eastern longneck turtle (Chelodina longicollis)

“…Given the high trapping density within this pond, it is possible that this increase in glucose was a stress response due to the high volume of animals in each trap. Mean serum glucose levels in this cohort approximated values seen in other stressed freshwater turtles (Ray and Maiti 2001;Paramita Ray et al 2008). Additionally, animals from DP also had significantly lower triglyceride levels, which has been identified as an indicator of stress in reptiles (Martínez Silvestre 2014).…”

Endocrine data provide further evidence of physiologic derangement in sea turtles affected by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

“…Assessment of the physiologic status of sea turtles by blood analysis is commonplace and provides important prognostic information (Innis et al 2009, Keller et al 2012, Stacy et al 2013. Corticosterone is the primary glucocorticoid hormone produced by the chelonian adrenal gland in response to stressors, and elevated concentrations of corticosterone have been described for sea turtles affected by various disease states, fisheries interactions, injuries, capture, and long-distance transportation (Gregory et al 1996, Jessop et al 2000, 2002, Jessop & Hamann 2004, Ray et al 2008, Hunt et al 2012, 2016a,b, 2019, 2020, Flower et al 2015. Concentrations of several thyroid hormones have been evaluated in sea turtles, including total thyroxine (T4; Licht et al 1985, Moon 1992, Moon et al 1998, 1999, Rostal et al 1998, Valente et al 2011), triiodothyronine (T3; Moon 1992, Moon et al 1998, 1999, and free thyroxine (fT4; Hunt et al 2012Hunt et al , 2016aHunt et al ,b, 2019Hunt et al , 2020, and concentrations may be suppressed or elevated during certain disease states (Hunt et al 2012(Hunt et al , 2016a.…”