Book chapter
Establishing Standardized Health Baselines for Green Turtle Populations
Island Ecosystems: Challenges to Sustainability, pp.357-374
Social and Ecological Interactions in the Galapagos Islands, Springer Nature
2023
Abstract
Marine turtles have been used as ecological health proxies for decades due to their high site fidelity and longevity. As a result, many studies have used marine turtles to explore the effects of anthropogenic impacts on the marine environment. Establishing a standardised range of metrics that reflect the condition of wild marine turtle populations allow researchers to examine the impacts of various threats and environmental variations. This study presents baseline health parameters for two island foraging green turtle populations on the southern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. It was hypothesised that parameter ranges would differ between sites due to variation in environmental conditions, food availability, and proximity to land based pollutants. Using a portable blood analyser and standard veterinary laboratory analysis, ranges for various haematology, blood gas and biochemical parameters were calculated. Using a standardised ratio of weight (kg) to curved carapace length (cm), a scaled mass index model was calculated for these two populations for use as a standardised measurement for body condition. While overall body condition did not differ between the islands, mean amylase, cholesterol, base excess, bicarbonate, and total carbon dioxide values were significantly higher at Lady Elliot Island. Annual monitoring and sampling of these populations is required to disentangle naturally occurring spatial and temporal variation of these ranges with external drivers. The results of this study provide standardised baseline health ranges, therefore health changes in response to environmental and anthropogenic pressures can accurately be assessed in the future.
Details
- Title
- Establishing Standardized Health Baselines for Green Turtle Populations
- Authors
- Caitlin Smith (Corresponding Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringBen Gilby (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringJuan-Pablo Muñoz-Pérez (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringJason P. van de Merwe (Author) - Griffith UniversityKathy Townsend (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Contributors
- Stephen J. Walsh (Editor) - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillCarlos F Mena (Editor) - Universidad San Francisco de QuitoJill R. Stewart (Editor) - University of North Carolina at Chapel HillJuan-Pablo Muñoz-Pérez (Editor) - Universidad San Francisco de Quito
- Publication details
- Island Ecosystems: Challenges to Sustainability, pp.357-374
- Series
- Social and Ecological Interactions in the Galapagos Islands
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- DOI
- 10.1007/978-3-031-28089-4_23; 10.1007/978-3-031-28089-4
- ISSN
- 2195-1063
- ISBN
- 9783031280894
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99725898302621
- Output Type
- Book chapter
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