title: Post-mortem investigations on a leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea stranded along the Northern Adriatic coastline.
abstract: Leatherback sea turtles Dermochelys coriacea are regularly reported in the Mediterranean Sea but rarely reach the northern Adriatic Sea. In the summer of 2009, a well-preserved carcass of an adult female of this species was found dead along the coast of Lido di Venezia. A complete necropsy was carried out, along with evaluation of levels of tissue trace elements. The the post-mortem revealed acute severe bacterial gastroenteritis caused by Photobacterium damselae ssp. piscicida, an opportunistic agent that infected an apparently debilitated animal weakened by ingested plastic debris. High levels of heavy metals (Hg, Pb, Cd and As) found in the liver and kidneys might have contributed to the animal's demise. These findings support previous indications that marine debris is one of the major threats to marine animals, particularly for critically endangered species such as the leatherback turtle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, University of Padova, Viale dell'Università 16, Legnaro (PD) 35020, Italy.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Poppi
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zaccaroni
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pasotto
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dotto
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Marcer
authors.forename: Dino
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Scaravelli
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mazzariol
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000473:pathology; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D007558:Italy; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000737:chemistry; D010776:Photobacterium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014426:Turtles; D014873:Water Pollutants
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D014873:Water Pollutants