Page-Karjian, Annie

The leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) is facing global declines; however, the Florida stock is generally increasing. Various studies have identified threats to sea turtles, but there is a need to quantify population-level threats. I used external examination and blood analyses of leatherbacks nesting on northern Palm Beach County, Florida beaches to understand the impact(s) that physical injuries have on this population. Notable injuries were present on 118 of 167 (70.7%) turtles. Fisheries injuries were more prevalent than other anthropogenic injuries; however, there was a higher overall prevalence of natural injuries. There were no notable findings from my blood analyses. My results suggest that while natural injuries are more common than anthropogenic injuries in the nesting population of Florida leatherbacks, anthropogenic injuries are more likely to result in severe traumatic wounds. Future investigation of overlap in leatherback migratory routes and foraging grounds with various threats could further protect this species.

In sea turtles, body condition can be evaluated through subjective body condition scoring (BCS), calculating body condition index (BCI), and clinical blood parameters. The goal of this study was to analyze ultrasonography of subcutaneous fat depth as a method to estimate body condition in 10 green and 8 loggerhead sea turtle carcasses using two types of portable ultrasound technologies, the Ibex Evo® and the Renco Lean-Meater®. Despite the general lack of significant correlations between ultrasound-assisted, gross, and histological measurements, the dorsal shoulder and lateral neck were determined to provide the most consistent images of subcutaneous fat. Florida live-captured green turtles were sampled and ultrasound-assisted fat depth measurements were taken at the dorsal shoulder region; however, there were no significant correlations found between fat depth and BCI or blood analytes (PCV, total protein). BCI reference quartiles were created using associations between BCI and BCS to help provide biological context to BCI data and allow for rapid categorization of sea turtle body condition.

Anthropogenic contaminants in the marine environment often biodegrade slowly, bioaccumulate in organisms, and can cause reproductive, immune, and developmental effects on wildlife; however, their effects on cetacean health and behavior have not been extensively studied. This study aims to expand knowledge concerning concentrations and biological effects of endocrine disrupting contaminants and essential and non-essential inorganic elements in stranded cetaceans. We evaluated tissue samples and pathology data from 66 odontocetes that stranded in the southeastern United States during 2012– 2017. Using mass spectrometry blubber samples were analyzed for five endocrine disrupting contaminants (atrazine, bisphenol-A, diethyl phthalate, nonylphenol ethoxylate, triclosan), and liver samples were analyzed for 12 inorganic elements (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Mg, Mn, Fe, Pb, Hg, Se, Tl, Zn). Results from this study demonstrate that exposure to certain contaminants may be associated with subtle or sublethal cellular changes in free-ranging marine mammals that could contribute to health declines or stranding.