Assessment of ground transportation stress in juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii)

Abstract

Juvenile Kemp’s ridley sea turtles were studied before and after ground transportation to assess potential transportation stress. Turtles appeared mildly stressed after a 13h transport (mild elevations in glucose) and moderately stressed by a 26h transport (more pronounced elevations in corticosterone and glucose), but remained in good clinical health.

Endocrine responses to diverse stressors of capture, entanglement and stranding in leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea)

“…Clinical data on these same turtles, however (presented in a separate study; Innis et al , 2014 ), indicate that the healthy turtles were still within normal bounds physiologically. For example, there was no significant elevation in glucose ( Innis et al , 2014 ), an analyte that tends to increase during prolonged capture and handling events in other sea turtle species ( Aguirre et al , 1995 ; Hoopes et al , 2000 ; Gregory and Schmid, 2001 ; Hunt et al , 2016 ).…”

“…06B-257214). These kits were selected based on successful use in other species of sea turtles ( Hunt et al , 2012 , 2016 ). The manufacturer’s protocols were used except that the corticosterone assay was run at half-volume, and an additional low-dose standard was added to both hormone assays.…”

“…The glucocorticoids orchestrate a systemic response to unpredictable events, redirecting available energy and behaviour toward escape, foraging and other coping strategies and inhibiting less urgent processes, such as growth and reproduction ( Wingfield et al , 1997 ; Wingfield and Romero, 2011 ; Sapolsky et al , 2000 ; Romero and Wingfield, 2016 ). Available data indicate that sea turtles have a robust stress response, with corticosterone elevating sharply in response to stressors such as entanglement in fishing gear, removal from water, ‘turning stress’ (turtle turned upside-down), capture and handling, fibropapillomatosis, laparoscopy, cold-stunning, osmotic stress, heat stress, injury and transportation ( Gregory et al , 1996 ; Valverde et al , 1999 ; Hoopes et al , 2000 ; Ortiz et al , 2000 ; Jessop et al , 2000 , 2004b , c ; Gregory and Schmid, 2001 ; Jessop and Hamann, 2005 ; Blanvillain et al , 2008 ; Snoddy et al , 2009 , Hunt et al , 2016 ). For leatherback turtles, however, adrenal physiology remains almost entirely unstudied.…”

The use of glucocorticoid hormones or leucocyte profiles to measure stress in vertebrates: What’s the difference?

“…(see Davis et al., for review). Over the past decade, the numbers of different species in which the method has been employed has risen dramatically and now includes a long list of mammals such as bats (Seltmann et al., ), chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes , Obanda, Omondi, & Chiyo, ) and dogs (Dudley, Schiml, & Hennessy, ), reptiles such as snakes (Sparkman et al., ), tortoises (Goessling, Guyer, & Mendona, ) and turtles (Camacho et al., ; Hunt et al., ), and well over one hundred species of birds including flamingo ( Phoenicopterus ruber , Royer & Anderson, ), and ostrich ( Struthio camelus , Bonato, Evans, Hasselquist, & Cherry, ). Research on amphibians and fish has similarly expanded (e.g.…”

A Summary of Sea Turtles Released from Rescue and Rehabilitation Programs in the United States, with Observations on Re-Encounters

“…For some states (e.g., Florida), it is likely that turtles cared for at facilities in that state were also released in that state. However, for other states where sea turtles are seasonal residents, and large numbers of strandings occur (e.g., Massachusetts), it is common for turtles to be medically managed and then transported to other states for eventual release (Hunt et al 2016). Similarly, one cannot conclude from this study that states that released few turtles (e.g., Connecticut, New Jersey) have less success, as very few turtles strand in those states in general.…”