Page-Karjian Annie, Rafferty Kathleen, Xavier Clerson, Stacy Nicole I, Moore Jon A, Hirsch Sarah E, Clark Samantha, Manire Charles A, Perrault Justin R
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Fort Pierce, FL 34946, USA.
University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32609, USA.
Conserv Physiol. 2021 Mar 26;9(1):coab015. doi: 10.1093/conphys/coab015. eCollection 2021.
The gopher tortoise (), a keystone species, is declining throughout its geographic range. Lack of knowledge with respect to the potential infectious diseases present within wild populations creates a dilemma for wildlife biologists, conservationists and public policy makers. The objective of this study was to conduct a health assessment of two previously unstudied gopher tortoise aggregations located at two sites in southeastern FL. Samples were collected from 91 tortoises (48 adults, 35 juveniles, 8 hatchlings) captured at Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, in Fort Pierce, FL, USA in 2019, and Loggerhead Park in Juno Beach, FL, USA, during 2018-2019. Samples of blood, nasal swabs and oral/cloacal swabs were analyzed for hematology, plasma protein electrophoretic profiles and infectious disease testing including spp. serology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays for , and spp. Hematological and plasma protein electrophoresis reference intervals are presented for adult and juvenile tortoises from both sites combined. Clinical signs consistent with upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) were observed in 18/91 (20%) tortoises, and antibodies to were detected in 33/77 (42.9%) tortoises. Adult tortoises were significantly more likely than juveniles to have URTD clinical signs, and statistically significant, positive relationships were observed between the presence of antibodies to spp. and carapace length, packed cell volume and plasma globulin concentrations. spp. inclusions were observed in 8/82 (10%) tortoises, but PCR detected sp. in 21/83 (25%) tortoises. and were not detected in any blood or swab samples. This work contributes important baseline information on the health of gopher tortoises toward the southern end of the species' range.
穴小鳄龟是一种关键物种，其数量在整个地理分布范围内都在减少。由于对野生种群中潜在传染病缺乏了解，这给野生动物生物学家、保护主义者和公共政策制定者带来了难题。本研究的目的是对位于佛罗里达州东南部两个地点的两个此前未被研究过的穴小鳄龟聚集群体进行健康评估。样本采集自2019年在美国佛罗里达州皮尔斯堡的佛罗里达大西洋大学港湾分校海洋研究所捕获的91只龟（48只成年龟、35只幼龟、8只幼龟），以及2018 - 2019年期间在美国佛罗里达州朱诺海滩的蠵龟公园捕获的龟。对血液、鼻拭子和口腔/泄殖腔拭子样本进行了血液学、血浆蛋白电泳图谱分析以及传染病检测，包括对沙门氏菌属进行血清学检测以及对沙门氏菌属、弯曲杆菌属和产气荚膜梭菌属进行聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测。给出了来自两个地点成年龟和幼龟合并后的血液学和血浆蛋白电泳参考区间。在18/91（20%）的龟中观察到了与上呼吸道疾病（URTD）一致的临床症状，在33/77（42.9%）的龟中检测到了针对沙门氏菌属的抗体。成年龟比幼龟更有可能出现URTD临床症状，并且在针对沙门氏菌属的抗体存在与背甲长度、红细胞压积和血浆球蛋白浓度之间观察到了具有统计学意义的正相关关系。在8/82（10%）的龟中观察到了沙门氏菌属包涵体，但PCR在21/83（25%）的龟中检测到了沙门氏菌属。在任何血液或拭子样本中均未检测到弯曲杆菌属和产气荚膜梭菌属。这项工作为该物种分布范围南端穴小鳄龟的健康状况提供了重要的基线信息。
