Department of Biological Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2012;7(2):e31841. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0031841. Epub 2012 Feb 16.
Of the seven sea turtle species, the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) exhibits the lowest and most variable nest success (i.e., hatching success and emergence success) for reasons that remain largely unknown. In an attempt to identify or rule out causes of low reproductive success in this species, we established the largest sample size (n = 60-70 for most values) of baseline blood parameters (protein electrophoresis, hematology, plasma biochemistry) for this species to date. Hematologic, protein electrophoretic and biochemical values are important tools that can provide information regarding the physiological condition of an individual and population health as a whole. It has been proposed that the health of nesting individuals affects their reproductive output. In order to establish correlations with low reproductive success in leatherback sea turtles from Florida, we compared maternal health indices to hatching success and emergence success of their nests. As expected, hatching success (median = 57.4%) and emergence success (median = 49.1%) in Floridian leatherbacks were low during the study period (2007-2008 nesting seasons), a trend common in most nesting leatherback populations (average global hatching success = ∼50%). One protein electrophoretic value (gamma globulin protein) and one hematologic value (red blood cell count) significantly correlated with hatching success and emergence success. Several maternal biochemical parameters correlated with hatching success and/or emergence success including alkaline phosphatase activity, blood urea nitrogen, calcium, calcium:phosphorus ratio, carbon dioxide, cholesterol, creatinine, and phosphorus. Our results suggest that in leatherbacks, physiological parameters correlate with hatching success and emergence success of their nests. We conclude that long-term and comparative studies are needed to determine if certain individuals produce nests with lower hatching success and emergence success than others, and if those individuals with evidence of chronic suboptimal health have lower reproductive success.
在 7 种海龟物种中，极度濒危的棱皮龟（Dermochelys coriacea）的筑巢成功率（即孵化成功率和出壳成功率）最低且变化最大，其原因在很大程度上尚不清楚。为了确定或排除导致该物种繁殖成功率低的原因，我们建立了迄今为止该物种最大的基线血液参数（蛋白质电泳、血液学、血浆生物化学）样本量（大多数值为 60-70）。血液学、蛋白质电泳和生化值是重要的工具，可以提供有关个体生理状况和整体种群健康的信息。有人提出，筑巢个体的健康状况会影响其繁殖成果。为了确定佛罗里达州棱皮龟低繁殖成功率与健康状况的相关性，我们将母龟的健康指数与它们的巢穴孵化成功率和出壳成功率进行了比较。正如预期的那样，在研究期间（2007-2008 筑巢季节），佛罗里达州棱皮龟的孵化成功率（中位数为 57.4%）和出壳成功率（中位数为 49.1%）较低，这是大多数筑巢棱皮龟种群的普遍趋势（全球平均孵化成功率约为 50%）。一个蛋白质电泳值（γ球蛋白蛋白）和一个血液学值（红细胞计数）与孵化成功率和出壳成功率显著相关。一些母龟的生化参数与孵化成功率和/或出壳成功率相关，包括碱性磷酸酶活性、血尿素氮、钙、钙磷比、二氧化碳、胆固醇、肌酐和磷。我们的研究结果表明，在棱皮龟中，生理参数与它们的巢穴孵化成功率和出壳成功率相关。我们得出结论，需要进行长期和比较研究，以确定是否某些个体产生的巢穴孵化成功率和出壳成功率低于其他个体，以及那些有慢性亚最佳健康证据的个体是否繁殖成功率较低。
