Annie Page

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is a neoplastic disease most often found in green turtles (Chelonia
mydas). Afflicted turtles are burdened with potentially debilitating tumors concentrated externally on
the soft tissues, plastron, and eyes and internally on the lungs, kidneys, and the heart. Clinical signs
occur at various levels, ranging from mild disease to severe debilitation. Tumors can both progress
and regress in affected turtles, with outcomes ranging from death due to the disease to complete
regression. Since its official description in the scientific literature in 1938, tumor growth rates have
been rarely documented. In addition, FP tumors come in two very different morphologies; yet, to
our knowledge, there have been no quantified differences in growth rates between tumor types.
FP tumors are often rugose in texture, with a polypoid to papillomatous morphology, and may or
may not be pedunculated. In other cases, tumors are smooth, with a skin-like surface texture and
little to no papillose structures. In our study, we assessed growth-rate differences between rugose
and smooth tumor morphologies in a rehabilitation setting. We measured average biweekly tumor
growth over time in green turtles undergoing rehabilitation at the University of Florida Whitney
Laboratory Sea Turtle Hospital in St. Augustine, Florida, and compared growth between rugose and smooth tumors. Our results demonstrate that both rugose and smooth tumors follow a similar
active growth progression pattern, but rugose tumors grew at significantly faster rates (p = 0.013)
than smooth ones. We also documented regression across several examined tumors, ranging from
􀀀0.19% up to 􀀀10.8% average biweekly negative growth. Our study offers a first-ever assessment of
differential growth between tumor morphologies and an additional diagnostic feature that may lead
to a more comprehensive understanding and treatment of the disease. We support the importance of
tumor morphological categorization (rugose versus smooth) being documented in future FP hospital and
field-based health assessments.

Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) are a species of growing interest for commercial
aquaculture. Effective health monitoring is crucial to the successful growout of
the species, and prophylactic and therapeutic use of chemicals and antibiotics has
been the traditional strategy for promoting stock health. However, concerns about
antimicrobial resistance, chemical residues in seafood products and the environment,
and resultant immunosuppression have prompted the industry to identify alternative
management strategies, including supplementation with prebiotics, probiotics, and
combinations of both (synbiotics). The objectives of this study are to determine and
compare hematological, plasma biochemical, and plasma protein electrophoresis data
of synbiotic-supplemented (β-glucan and Pediococcus acidilactici) and nonsupplemented
Florida pompano. Reference intervals for blood analytes are provided
for both groups and for subgroups (females, males, large, and small fish) where statistically
significant results exist. There are no differences between the hematological
and plasma biochemistry analytes between the supplemented and control groups,
except for blood urea nitrogen and carbon dioxide, indicating a possible effect of synbiotic
supplementation on gill function and osmoregulation. Sex-related and sizerelated
differences are observed within each of the control and supplemented
groups; however, biometric measurements do not strongly correlate with blood analytes.
These data represent baseline hematological and plasma biochemical data in
the Florida pompano and indicate the safety of synbiotic supplementation in this
commercially important species. This study serves to further the commercialization
of Florida pompano by providing blood analyte reference intervals for health monitoring
in the aquaculture setting.

Odontocetes obtain nutrients including essential elements through their diet and are exposed to
heavy metal contaminants via ingestion of contaminated prey. We evaluated the prevalence,
concentration, and tissue distribution of essential and non-essential trace elements, including
heavy metal toxicants, in tissue (blubber, kidney, liver, skeletal muscle, skin) and fecal samples
collected from 90 odontocetes, representing nine species, that stranded in Georgia and Florida,
USA during 2007–2021. Samples were analyzed for concentrations of seven essential (cobalt,
copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum, selenium, zinc) and five non-essential (arsenic, cadmium,
lead, mercury, thallium) elemental analytes using inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry.
Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) and short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) had
the highest median concentrations of mercury, cadmium, and lead, while dwarf sperm whales
(Kogia sima) had the lowest. Adult pygmy and dwarf sperm whales that stranded in 2019–2021
had higher concentrations of arsenic, copper, iron, lead, manganese, selenium, thallium, and zinc
compared to those that stranded in 2010–2018, suggesting an increasing risk of exposure over
time. The highest concentrations of many elements (e.g., cadmium, cobalt, copper, manganese,
molybdenum, thallium, zinc) were in fecal samples, illustrating the usefulness of this noninvasively
collected sample. Aside from fecal samples, hepatic tissues had the highest concentrations
of iron, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, and selenium in most species; renal tissues
had the highest concentrations of cadmium; skin had the highest concentrations of zinc; and
copper, arsenic, and lead concentrations were primarily distributed among the liver and kidneys.
Phylogenetic differences in patterns of trace element concentrations likely reflect species-specific
differences in diet, trophic level, and feeding strategies, while heterogeneous distributions of
elemental analytes among different organ types reflect differences in elemental biotransformation,
elimination, and storage. This study illustrates the importance of monitoring toxic contaminants in stranded odontocetes, which serve as important sentinels of environmental
contamination, and whose health may be linked to human health.

The Florida pompano, Trachinotus carolinus, is an ideal species
for commercial aquaculture because of its rapid growth,
tolerance to a range of environmental parameters, and high
demand in the seafood market. This study detailed embryonic
and early larval development of this species. Florida
pompano followed similar developmental sequences to
those observed in other marine teleosts, and embryos
hatched between 22 and 28 h post-fertilization. Significant
brain lobe differentiation occurred prior to hatching. Pectoral
fins were functional within 1-day post-hatch (dph). Substantial
eye development occurred within 3 dph, indicating
visual acuity prior to the onset of exogenous live feeding.
Intestinal segments were differentiated by 3 dph, and rotifers
were seen in the digestive tract by 4 dph. Digestive
functions were limited through the first 7 dph because of
the absence of functional gastric glands and gastric mucous
cells in the rudimentary stomach, lipid vacuoles in the anterior
intestines, and the persistence of acidophilic supranuclear
vesicles in the posterior intestines. Within 7 dph,
the pharyngeal arches differentiated, and hematopoietic tissue and mesonephric tubules were visible in the larval
kidney. Their rapid larval development and organogenesis
are additional factors that make Florida pompano an ideal
species for aquaculture production and should encourage
continued efforts toward commercialization