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Investigation of multiple mortality events in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina)

Wildlife mortality investigations are important for conservation, food safety, and public health; but they are infrequently reported for cryptic chelonian species. Eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) are declining due to anthropogenic factors and disease, and while mortality investigat...

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Autores principales: Adamovicz, Laura, Allender, Matthew C., Archer, Grace, Rzadkowska, Marta, Boers, Kayla, Phillips, Chris, Driskell, Elizabeth, Kinsel, Michael J., Chu, Caroline
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5886585/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29621347
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195617
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author Adamovicz, Laura
Allender, Matthew C.
Archer, Grace
Rzadkowska, Marta
Boers, Kayla
Phillips, Chris
Driskell, Elizabeth
Kinsel, Michael J.
Chu, Caroline
author_facet Adamovicz, Laura
Allender, Matthew C.
Archer, Grace
Rzadkowska, Marta
Boers, Kayla
Phillips, Chris
Driskell, Elizabeth
Kinsel, Michael J.
Chu, Caroline
author_sort Adamovicz, Laura
collection PubMed
description Wildlife mortality investigations are important for conservation, food safety, and public health; but they are infrequently reported for cryptic chelonian species. Eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) are declining due to anthropogenic factors and disease, and while mortality investigations have been reported for captive and translocated individuals, few descriptions exist for free-living populations. We report the results of four natural mortality event investigations conducted during routine health surveillance of three Illinois box turtle populations in 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015. In April 2011, over 50 box turtles were found dead and a polymicrobial necrotizing bacterial infection was diagnosed in five survivors using histopathology and aerobic/anaerobic culture. This represents the first reported occurrence of necrotizing bacterial infection in box turtles. In August 2013, paired histopathology and qPCR ranavirus detection in nine turtles was significantly associated with occupation of moist microhabitats, identification of oral plaques and nasal discharge on physical exam, and increases in the heterophil count and heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (p < 0.05). In July 2014 and 2015, ranavirus outbreaks reoccurred within a 0.2km radius of highly-disturbed habitat containing ephemeral ponds used by amphibians for breeding. qPCR ranavirus detection in five individuals each year was significantly associated with use of moist microhabitats (p < 0.05). Detection of single and co-pathogens (Terrapene herpesvirus 1, adenovirus, and Mycoplasma sp.) was common before, during, and after mortality events, but improved sample size would be necessary to determine the impacts of these pathogens on the occurrence and outcome of mortality events. This study provides novel information about the causes and predictors of natural box turtle mortality events. Continued investigation of health, disease, and death in free-living box turtles will improve baseline knowledge of morbidity and mortality, identify threats to survival, and promote the formation of effective conservation strategies.
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spelling pubmed-58865852018-04-20 Investigation of multiple mortality events in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) Adamovicz, Laura Allender, Matthew C. Archer, Grace Rzadkowska, Marta Boers, Kayla Phillips, Chris Driskell, Elizabeth Kinsel, Michael J. Chu, Caroline PLoS One Research Article Wildlife mortality investigations are important for conservation, food safety, and public health; but they are infrequently reported for cryptic chelonian species. Eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina) are declining due to anthropogenic factors and disease, and while mortality investigations have been reported for captive and translocated individuals, few descriptions exist for free-living populations. We report the results of four natural mortality event investigations conducted during routine health surveillance of three Illinois box turtle populations in 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015. In April 2011, over 50 box turtles were found dead and a polymicrobial necrotizing bacterial infection was diagnosed in five survivors using histopathology and aerobic/anaerobic culture. This represents the first reported occurrence of necrotizing bacterial infection in box turtles. In August 2013, paired histopathology and qPCR ranavirus detection in nine turtles was significantly associated with occupation of moist microhabitats, identification of oral plaques and nasal discharge on physical exam, and increases in the heterophil count and heterophil to lymphocyte ratio (p < 0.05). In July 2014 and 2015, ranavirus outbreaks reoccurred within a 0.2km radius of highly-disturbed habitat containing ephemeral ponds used by amphibians for breeding. qPCR ranavirus detection in five individuals each year was significantly associated with use of moist microhabitats (p < 0.05). Detection of single and co-pathogens (Terrapene herpesvirus 1, adenovirus, and Mycoplasma sp.) was common before, during, and after mortality events, but improved sample size would be necessary to determine the impacts of these pathogens on the occurrence and outcome of mortality events. This study provides novel information about the causes and predictors of natural box turtle mortality events. Continued investigation of health, disease, and death in free-living box turtles will improve baseline knowledge of morbidity and mortality, identify threats to survival, and promote the formation of effective conservation strategies. Public Library of Science 2018-04-05 /pmc/articles/PMC5886585/ /pubmed/29621347 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195617 Text en © 2018 Adamovicz et al http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Adamovicz, Laura
Allender, Matthew C.
Archer, Grace
Rzadkowska, Marta
Boers, Kayla
Phillips, Chris
Driskell, Elizabeth
Kinsel, Michael J.
Chu, Caroline
Investigation of multiple mortality events in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina)
title Investigation of multiple mortality events in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina)
title_full Investigation of multiple mortality events in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina)
title_fullStr Investigation of multiple mortality events in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina)
title_full_unstemmed Investigation of multiple mortality events in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina)
title_short Investigation of multiple mortality events in eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina)
title_sort investigation of multiple mortality events in eastern box turtles (terrapene carolina carolina)
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5886585/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29621347
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195617
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