Table 1.
Morphometrics and results of external physical exam for green turtles (Chelonia mydas) from three locations in Florida, USA. For standard straight carapace length (SCL), body mass, body condition index (BCI), tumor score, and tumor number, mean ± standard deviation are given with the median and range in parentheses. Sample sizes differed in some categories as not all analyses were conducted on every sample; this is indicated parenthetically where relevant. Different superscript letters next to each category represent significant differences between sites, when present. Abbreviations: ChHV5, chelonid alphaherpesvirus 5; ChHV6, chelonid alphaherpesvirus 6; qPCR, quantitative polymerase chain reaction.
| Physical Examination | Big Bend | Jennings Cove | Jupiter Inlet | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | 16 | 18 | 11 | 45 |
| Sampling dates | Aug 2020 | Sep 2018–Oct 2020 | Sep 2020 | Sep 2019–Oct 2020 |
| SCL (cm) | 34.4 ± 4.6 A (33.8) (27.9–43.4) |
48.2 ± 10.3 B (49.8) (32.5–70.6) |
35.4 ± 9.1 A (32.1) (27.2–53.0) |
40.2 ± 10.6 (36.9) (27.2–70.6) |
| Body mass (kg) | 5.6 ± 2.7 A (5.2) (2.8–12.3) |
16.8 ± 11.6 B (14.4) (4.5–46.8) |
6.7 ± 6.4 A (3.8) (2.8–19.5) |
10.2 ± 9.4 (6.6) (2.8–46.8) |
| Body condition index | 1.29 ± 0.11 (1.31) (1.10–1.50) |
1.32 ± 0.12 (1.31) (1.07–1.52) |
1.26 ± 0.09 (1.27) (1.10–1.39) |
1.29 ± 0.11 (1.31) (1.07–1.52) |
| Subjective body condition | Good: 44% (7/16) Robust: 56% (9/16) |
Good: 72% (13/18) Robust: 28% (5/18) |
Good: 91% (10/11) Robust: 9% (1/11) |
Good: 67% (30/45) Robust: 33% (15/45) |
| Leech prevalence | 0% (0/16) A | 50% (9/18) B | 9% (1/11) AB | 22% (10/45) |
| Leech cocoon prevalence | 0% (0/16) A | 44% (8/18) B | 9% (1/11) AB | 20% (9/45) |
| Barnacle prevalence | 63% (10/16) | 61% (11/18) | 73% (8/11) | 64% (29/45) |
| Flipper damage | 6% (1/16) | 22% (4/18) | 18% (2/11) | 16% (7/45) |
| Carapace damage | 19% (3/16) | 11% (2/18) | 0% (0/11) | 11% (5/45) |
| FP and diagnostic assays | Big Bend | Jennings Cove | Jupiter Inlet | Total |
| FP prevalence | 69% (11/16) | 56% (10/18) | 36% (4/11) | 56% (25/45) |
| Balazs–Work tumor score | 1.0 ± 0.8 (1) (0–2) |
1.3 ± 1.2 (2) (0–3) |
0.5 ± 0.8 (0) (0–2) |
1.0 ± 1.0 (1) (0–3) |
| Tumor number | 10 ± 15 (3) (0–44) |
21 ± 25 (13) (0–79) |
4 ± 8 (0) (0–26) |
13 ± 20 (2) (0–79) |
| ChHV5 qPCR+ | 6% (1/16) | 0% (0/13) | 0% (0/11) | 3% (1/40) |
| ChHV5 seropositive | 13% (2/15) | 46% (6/16) | 0% (0/9) | 20% (8/40) |
| ChHV6 qPCR+ | 0% (0/16) | 0% (0/13) | 0% (0/11) | 0% (0/40) |
| ChHV6 seropositive | 0% (0/15) | 8% (1/13) | 0% (0/9) | 3% (1/37) |