Reference intervals and relationships between health status, carapace length, body mass, and water temperature and concentrations of plasma total protein and protein electrophoretogram fractions in Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles and green turtles.
OBJECTIVE
To determine reference intervals for concentrations of plasma total protein (TP) and electrophoretogram fractions (ELFs) for healthy, wild loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and to assess relationships between TP and ELF concentrations and health status, body size, body mass, and water temperature.


METHODS
Evaluation study.


METHODS
437 healthy and 35 ill Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles and 152 healthy and 3 ill Atlantic green turtles.


METHODS
Free-ranging turtles were captured from a nuclear power plant intake canal in southern Florida. Plasma samples were obtained from all turtles. Plasma TP and ELF concentrations were measured, and reference intervals were calculated. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were used to compare TP and ELF values between healthy and ill loggerhead sea turtles. Spearman rank correlations were evaluated between concentrations of TP and ELFs and carapace length, body mass, and water temperature.


RESULTS
Reference intervals for TP concentrations were 2.2 to 5.2 g/dL and 2.0 to 5.4 g/dL for loggerhead sea turtles and green turtles, respectively. Except for gamma-globulin, concentrations of ELFs were significantly higher in healthy than in ill loggerhead sea turtles. There was a positive correlation between TP, alpha-globulin, beta-globulin, and gamma-globulin concentrations and water temperature in loggerhead sea turtles and between only TP and alpha-globulin concentrations and water temperature in green turtles.


CONCLUSIONS
Reference intervals for concentrations of TP and ELFs for healthy, free-ranging loggerhead sea turtles and green turtles can be used in combination with other diagnostic tools to assess health status of sea turtles.
Osborne
Ann G
AG
Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
Jacobson
Elliott R
ER
Bresette
Michael J
MJ
Singewald
Dave A
DA
Scarpino
Russell A
RA
Bolten
Alan B
AB
D000820:Animal Diseases / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001797:Blood Protein Electrophoresis / Q000662:veterinary*; D001798:Blood Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D049628:Body Size / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D012016:Reference Values; D012623:Seawater; D013045:Species Specificity; D013696:Temperature; D014426:Turtles / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000097:blood / Q000502:physiology*
D001798:Blood Proteins